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Tuesday, September 23, 2008
County Proposes Interim Improvements to Historic Mays Landing Court House
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A sagging economy and competing capital development priorities will require that county government defer plans for a major rehab of its historic Courthouse Building in Mays Landing and instead opt for interim improvements that will stabilize the building and maintain its functionality.
According to County Executive Dennis Levinson, it is simply not in the best interest of the county taxpayers to undertake the full $24 million improvements that have been proposed for the county’s historic courthouse complex at this time.
"I recognize the importance of this facility to our heritage and to downtown Mays Landing and will ensure that the integrity of the building will be maintained and that certain county operations will continue there. However, the full restoration proposed by our consultants will have to be put off for a while," Levinson stated.
The historic Atlantic County Court House was originally built in 1838 and underwent a major renovation in 1976. It currently houses the operations of the County Clerk, the County Surrogate, the Board of Elections, the Board of Taxation and the Atlantic County Improvement Authority. The Atlantic County Board of Freeholders is currently considering relocating its offices to this location. Levinson noted that even if the full project were undertaken and completed, the number of county staff who use the facility would be about the same.
Levinson said that scaling down the project was his recommendation, but ultimately what happens to the facility will be decided by the Board of Freeholders.
"I don’t operate by decree. If the board would like to go beyond what I currently recommend, it is free to do so and I will cooperate. I have no doubt that the freeholders have the best interests of the county taxpayers at heart as well as the citizens of Mays Landing."
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