Coroner’s Building At Standstill

Crawford County’s plans for a coroner’s building are at a standstill as the commission debates its future.

The commission purchased a building along Highway 19 in the city of Cuba in 2020. The cost was $150,000 and as County Clerk John Martin said at the time, a phased renovation would take place.

The commission was forced to find a location for the coroner following the retirement of Paul Huston, who opted not to run for another term.

Darren Dake, who was deputy coroner, took over and was involved in the plans for a new building.

The commission had a new building on its radar dating back to 2017, but settled on the location at 407 Franklin Street in December 2020.

The county enlisted Corky Stack of Stack Design & Consulting Group to design the renovation for the building, which will come at a cost of $1.2 million.

Where the county goes from here is in doubt as Presiding Commissioner Steve Black is opposed to spending that amount.

Black took issue with Martin’s 2023 budget message, that said the presiding commissioner is the hold up.

Martin said the previous commission promised taxpayers it would use the increased sales tax to provide a space for the coroner.

He said the current setup is an “unnecessary burden” on the county and until a new facility is built, the county move forward with other capital improvement projects.

“I have stated numerous times that I don’t support spending $1.2 million for the coroner’s building,” Black said on Tuesday. “I don’t think I’m holding it up. I am for that building, but not for that plan.”

Stack presented designs for three different locations, each of them costing over $1 million.

The county has until Feb. 20 to select a bid as the process expires that day. If the commission doesn’t accept a bid, it would have to start all over.

Black told commissioners he was approached by the owner of a building in Cuba who said he was interested in selling it to the county.

Black said it was built in 2005 and was larger than other designs at 4,000 square feet. It has office space, rooms and dockage. 

He asked commissioners if they were interested in at least taking a look at it as another option.

The commission was unsure if they would all be able to meet at the same time without it being a violation of the Sunshine Law.