WMVO Good Times Great Oldies
Before the City of Mount Vernon decided this past spring to enter into agreements to purchase four property parcels on and near the Public Square for the relocation of the Municipal Court and other City offices, a special committee of City officials was organized to determine the best location for the move.
The costs of renovating the Court’s current building at 5 Gay St., built in 1974 and also housing the
Police Department and the offices of the City Law Director, had become prohibitively expensive,
necessitating the search for a new home for these facilities.
The committee focused most closely on three locations — at Cooper Progress Park; the properties
along the east side of South Sandusky Street from West High Street south to West Gambier
Street; as well as the parcels it ultimately decided to purchase. Those are at 3 E. High St., 16 N.
Main St., 4 E. Chestnut St. and 6 E. Chestnut St.
The courthouse committee also gave careful consideration to a handful of other potential locations
across the City before determining that they would not be fit. Cost was a significant factor in the
analysis for all the sites, although other issues were also addressed.
“The committee was charged with making a decision that will ultimately impact the City for decades
to come, so we had to get this right,” said City
Engineer Brian Ball, P.E. “After looking at the
site costs and other factors a clear choice
gradually emerged for the future location of our
Municipal Court.”
Below is a breakdown of the estimated costs
associated with the three principal sites
analyzed by the City’s courthouse committee:
Cooper Progress Park
• Lot size – 3.7 acres
• Property cost – $1.65 million
$450,000 for asbestos abatement
• Demolition cost – $515,800
• Total cost – $2.6 million ***
South Sandusky/West High Streets
• Lot size – 3.0 acres
• Property cost – $4.3 million
• Demolition cost – $142,900
• Total cost – $4.4 million
Cooper Progress Park; properties in blue
Properties along east side of South Sandusky Street
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Public Square
• Lot size – 0.62 acres
• Property cost – $1.5 million
• Demolition cost – $219,600
• Total cost – $1.7 million
*** Because of the Cooper Progress Park’s
homeowner association requirement for publicly
financed buildings, the City would also have been
responsible for an annual fee ranging from $20,000
to $50,000.
Also considered was the former Mount Vernon News building at 18 E. Vine St., the former First
Merit Bank building at South Main and Gambier streets, and property adjacent to the Knox County
Sheriff’s Office on Upper Gilchrist Road.
However, the Knox County Land Bank already had development plans for the old News building,
while parking would have been inadequate at the former bank site, which also has ADA
(Americans with Disabilities Act) shortcomings. Finally, the county’s land on the east end of the
City is not for sale, and is far from being centrally located to provide easy access for those needing
alternative forms of transportation.
A prime consideration for the committee in its analysis besides cost was assuring that the
Municipal Court could be easily found and accessed at its new location by the thousands of people
who visit the facility annually.
The Ohio Revised Code requires that a city’s legislature shall provide “suitable accommodations”
for a Municipal Court and its officers. The Ohio Supreme Court’s court facility standards dictate
that the site, in addition to being separate from non-judicial governmental agencies, should be in a
building that is “dignified and properly maintained.”
“The Municipal Court has been an integral part of the justice system in Knox County for 70 years.
The Court has countywide jurisdiction for all misdemeanor criminal offenses, limited jurisdiction for
felonies, handles all traffic violations, hears all civil cases where the amount in controversy is less
than $15,000 and processes all evictions and small claims cases. Last year the Court handled over
5,000 cases and case numbers were even higher in pre-pandemic years,” said Municipal Court
Judge John Thatcher.
“It is vitally important that plans proceed for a new Court building so that Court operations are not
interrupted by moving to a temporary facility in the event the current building has a major structural
or mechanical failure. The building is also too small and outdated to serve the public’s needs now
and in the future,” he said.
The property at 3 E. High St. is situated on the northeast side of the Public Square, and will be the
location of the new Municipal Courthouse, as well as the offices of the City Law Director. The
properties on North Main and East Chestnut streets are directly north of City Hall, and will be
utilized as an annex for City offices.
While the existing structures will be demolished, the City is working with architectural consultants
to assure that the buildings’ exterior design is in keeping with the downtown’s historical and
architectural character. In addition, the current retail space will be improved.
“The downtowns in many cities across our state have experienced an exodus of business and
other entities. Due to many quality people, our Mount Vernon downtown is thriving,” said Council
Person Mel Severns. “In order to maintain the vitality of our downtown, we on City Council believe
Properties on and near the Public Square purchased by City
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it is necessary to utilize the lots on the northeast corner of our square to build a new Municipal
Courthouse, and the lots immediately north of City Hall for a City office annex.”
Future press releases will focus on the many functions and responsibilities of the Municipal Court;
the future location of the Police Department; and the plans for the new City Hall Annex.
