Council, commissioners move meeting location

Beginning in May, the county council and commissioners will move their meetings to the Washington County Courthouse on the square in Salem.

The meetings will be held on the second floor in the space formerly occupied by the Circuit Court.

After the completion of the Judicial Center, a team of county employees volunteered to work weekends to renovate the downtown court space to accommodate the meetings. Those volunteers were Michele Fleenor and Debbie Schreiber, who are with the county Auditor’s Office, and Treasurer Shirley Batt.

The first work completed was the removal of the carpet, which revealed the space’s original wood floor.

It is hoped further renovation will include the removal of the acoustic tile ceiling to reveal the original ceiling and its decorative medallions.

The work, originally estimated to cost $31,600, was to be paid with unused funds in the commissioners’ 2017 budget.

Some discussion was held about what to call the county’s new meeting room since some people still go there believing court is still being held there rather than at the new Judicial Center along Martinsburg Road. No final decision was made.