By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
In March, the Barton County Commission approved a bid of nearly $50,000 for Tulsa-based Armstrong Moving Company to move county operations back into the courthouse following the HVAC Renovation Project. That time is now just two weeks away. County Administrator Matt Patzner said the courthouse should be operational by Monday, May 20.
"We wanted to give ourselves a little bit of grace at the end just in case anything unforeseeable comes up," he said. "We're going to start the move May 13 and it should wrap up May 18."
The county clerk, district court, and register of deeds offices must remain open, so half of those offices will be moved on May 13 with the remainder moved on May 15. That Tuesday is allocated to first-floor offices at the courthouse, including the treasurer's office and administrative offices. Thursday will be a full day of moving the county attorney's office back into the courthouse. Friday is reserved for the remaining second-floor offices, and Saturday will be used for any leftover projects.
"It's going to be that much sweeter just because of all the effort that everybody's put in," Patzner said. "It's amazing. When we started this, it seemed like a monumental task. Getting in there before June 1, operational, and we'll see after we sell the tax credits, but there's a good chance this project will be on time and at budget or under budget."
Doing front-end work like labeling office supplies will help in round two of the move, and county employees will be asked to transport their own valuables. Barton County had leased three properties for temporary county operations, and Patzner expects those leases to end after the year-long contract with no extension needed.