Marion County Courthouse Repair Costs Now at $12 Million Dollars

Plans are to re-occupy the building starting in the basement and moving up floor by floor as repairs and upgrades are completed. Some employees are expected to begin setting up work spaces in May.

Fire damage inside the Marion County Courthouse Photo By: Tim King

(SALEM) - Pinning down the costs of restoring the Marion County Courthouse has been difficult, say county officials. They say there are dozens of hard decisions about whether to clean and repair a large variety of materials or replace them.

Decisions are still being made, but as of Tuesday, Marion County Spokesperson Sue McCracken says the estimated costs that will be covered by insurance are approximately $12 million.

Experts were brought in to estimate the costs of making repairs following the November 12th incident, during which Keizer resident Christopher Millis is accused of driving his pickup through the front doors of the courthouse, firing shots and starting fires, Marion County officials say everyone underestimated the amount of work, time, and money it would take.

While employees of the state courts and the county are out of the building in alternative locations, the county also decided to make some improvements such as replacing plumbing that is at the end of its useful life, upgrading electrical and ventilation systems, repairing leaking roofs and windows, and installing barriers to prevent future incidents.

Not all the quotes are in yet for the upgrades, many of which would have had to be done in a year or two anyway, but the cost is expected to be $1.7 million or less.

The public will not have access to the building until offices are moved into the basement and first floor and ready to open.

The target for opening to the public is mid-June.

Nearly 200 people worked in the courthouse, and it has been critical to maintain public access to their services. The City of Salem and the State of Oregon have acted as partners in finding space to share that was either free or at the cost of the utilities.

Once the free and at-cost space was all taken, community business people provided short-term leases at very reasonable rates.

In addition to helping with rental space, the City of Salem has given guidance on code issues and has been expediting review of plans and issuing permits in a timely fashion.

For the current location of court and county operations and for updated information as work on the courthouse continues, check the Marion County Web site at www.co.marion.or.us.