Court House Review Project Completed

When the new Gilmer County Board of Commissioners (BOC) took office in January 2009 they felt it necessary to hire an outside contractor to perform a review of the new courthouse construction project expenses. The BOC commissioned Dr. Zuhair Itr, to perform the review. According to Commission Chair, Mark Chastain "Dr. Itar is a recognized expert with experience regarding such matters. Dr Itr has a Phd from Georgia Tech in Civil Engineering specializing in Construction Management and has taught at Southern Polytechnic State University since 1966 in the Construction Department, where he has taught courses such as cost estimating, structural systems, and project planning".

Dr. Itr's report, dated May 14, 2009, is a matter of public record and copies can be obtained at the BOC office in the new courthouse. With regard to the cost of the courthouse Dr. Itr's report indicates that the total construction cost (building cost + site preparation cost) was $187.38 per square foot. Dr. Itr sites a report compiled by leading Architectural firms in the industry. This report indicates that, "the construction cost of courthouses adjusted for inflation vary between $230 and $260 per square foot. Dr. Itr also cites R.S.Means, "one of the premier cost reporting sources in the United States for building costs. R.S. Means reported that the mean "Court House Building and Town Halls cost per square foot is $168.00. The building cost per square foot for the Gilmer County Court House, as reported by Dr. Itr was $168.74 per square foot.

As mentioned above, the full report can be obtained at the BOC office or email me at: mjholstein@ccim.net and I will email you a copy in a .pdf file.

MY OPINION
The 2005 - 2009 Gilmer County Board of Commissioners built the courthouse exactly like was shown to the voters of Gilmer County prior to us overwhelmingly voting in favor of replacing the old courthouse. Construction of both Phase I and II of the Courthouse was accomplished in accordance with applicable state law, at a price that has been determined to be well within national standards. In my opinion, if future BOCs will provide for the proper maintenance of the project, the court house will serve the needs of our citizens until well past the first half of this century. We have a beautiful structure that contributes to aesthetics of our downtown and something that each taxpayer can, and should, take pride in. If there is one individual we can thank for his tireless effort in monitoring the entire process, including functionality, design, construction quality and cost it is Ken Bailey, Post I County Commissioner from 2005 - 2009. Ken's lifetime of experience in the construction industry was invaluable in this process and was given freely, by Ken to our County.