County residents and courthouse employees have noticed and made note of courthouse marble floors, stairways and counter tops deteriorating condition. The once glossy sheen is now a dull finish.

County Supervisors heard from County Assessor, Ron Richmond on the subject of restoring the marble to its'original gleam during the Old/New section of last week's (Mon., March 23) meeting. Supervisors agreed, Richmond to continue investigating the options available and they would also pursue the restoration in preparation for the courthouse Centennial celebration in 2010.

Supervisor, Ernie Greiner asked marble expert, Robert Sawyer to examine the courthouse and provide the Board with a rough estimate. Sawyer and two marble specialists evaluated the marble in the courthouse on Mon., March 30 and shared their findings with Supervisors during their Monday meeting.

Sawyer and his crew evaluated the marble on a scale of 0-10, with 10 being a like-new finish. A majority of the courthouse rated a 3 with a few counter tops coming in at a 5. The ballpark estimate to bring the courthouse to a level 8 is $46,000 in labor and $10,000 for materials with the work conducted on 6 weekends with three men at twelve hours a day. According to Sawyer, it would take, in the neighborhood, of $65-75,000 to bring the courthouse to a level 10 rating.

Sawyer also mentioned the need of new equipment for ongoing maintinance to cost in the 500-600 range. The Supervisors appreciated Sawyer's opinion and would take the estimates under advisement.

Supervisors also agreed to allow Richmond to continue pursuing his ideas with regards to the marble maintinance.