MARSHALL - Madison County has broken ground on its new roughly $90 million Public Service Complex, to include a new judicial center.
The Public Service Complex is a proposed 80,000-square-foot facility to include a judicial center on Medical Park Drive in the field behind the health department in Marshall.
The complex will consolidate governmental, social and judicial services into a single facility, including Department of Social Services, clerk of court, inspection, child support, county administration, information technology, as well as county offices such as register of deeds, zoning and planning, board of elections and a commissioner meeting space.
The county hosted a groundbreaking ceremony Aug. 7 at the site, at 500 Medical Park Drive.
"In
10, 15 or 20 years, our names will be forgotten, and history will have passed us by," Commission Chair Michael Garrison said at the ceremony, adding that the building will serve as a memorial, a monument and testimony for the county's resilience through (Tropical Storm) Helene and what it's endured over the years.
"Our community is steeped with humble mountain folks that are rugged, courageous and willing to take on new endeavors. This is one of them. This Public Service Complex ... every bit of it is for the people of Madison County."
Existing courthouse
Before Tropical Storm Helene, a 2021 county committee recommended pursuing a new facility for judicial services. Expanding the facility to include social and government services will reduce the county government footprint from four facilities to a single, easily accessible facility with immediate parking, according to County Manager Rod Honeycutt.
When Helene hit the region on Sept. 27, 2024, heavy rains caused catastrophic flooding of many rivers, including the French Broad, which devastated Marshall, destroying homes, roads, bridges and businesses. Helene killed more than 100 people and caused nearly $60 billion in damage across the state.
The historic courthouse, owned by the county, has sat unused since Helene. The Marshall Town Board applied for a $10 million state grant to explore taking ownership of the building and transforming it into a cultural events center.
The courthouse, built in 1907 and likely the oldest operational in the state at the time, was severely damaged in Helene's floods. The county is using a temporary facility at 258 Carolina Lane in Marshall.
Funding
The News-Record met with Honeycutt Aug. 13 to discuss the project funding following the groundbreaking ceremony.
Honeycutt said funding for the project comes entirely from Helene infrastructure funding, and the county's primary goal is to have no county taxpayer dollars into the project.
"Will it be federal taxpayer dollars? Yes. But not local county taxpayer dollars," Honeycutt said.
According to Honeycutt, the county is at roughly 70% of its fundraising goal for the project.
"We've got until July 1, 2027 to find an additional $27 million," he said, adding that the General Assembly has expressed "vocal commitments" to continue to help fund the project.
Honeycutt said July 9 that state Rep. Mark Pless, NC-118, announced the state General Assembly included $27 million for the Public Service Complex in its 2026-27 appropriations. In November 2021, then-Gov. Roy Cooper allotted $3.8 million to Madison County for renovations and new construction at the county courthouse in Marshall, of which the county has $2 million remaining.
Last June, Gov. Josh Stein signed House Bill 1012, which includes $70 million for its Hurricane Helene Local Government Capital Grant Program, $20 million of which is reserved for Madison County. The county also has roughly $10 million in additional FEMA funding, bringing its total funding for the project to nearly $60 million.
Concerns about lack of funding
To make up for the additional roughly $30 million, the county has its eyes set on two major grant opportunities: a $10 million grant with NC Renew, as well as a $20 million federal economic development grant. Honeycutt said the county expects to hear back on those applications by January 2027.
If those grants don't come through, the county would likely have to borrow money from a financial institution, he said.
"That would be a burden we don't want to put on the taxpayers," he said. "We're trying everything we can to avoid that."
Some residents, including Danny Wyatt of Marshall, have expressed concerns about the county breaking ground on the project despite not having full funding.
Honeycutt said the new facility will be a boon to the county as a whole, and will attract potential businesses to come to the county.
"Right now, we're pouring millions of dollars to maintain buildings that are Band-Aids. Let's put that money into a facility that is something we're proud of, something than investor, and the public can come to," he said. "There's too many positives to outweigh the negatives."
Honeycutt said the project is in Phase 4A of its six-phase timeline.
The project also proposes bringing a greenway from Medical Park Drive to the county fairgrounds property near Tillery Branch Road.
Asheville-based contractor Vannoy Construction is performing the construction alongside LS3P, also based in Asheville, and the county.
Services such as public assistance programs, permitting, inspections, the tax department, and environmental health will all be available at this new location, making it more convenient for residents to access a wide range of essential services, Honeycutt said.
The estimated construction completion date is March 2029.
Johnny Casey is the Madison County communities reporter for The Citizen Times and The News-Record & Sentinel. He can be reached at 828-210-6074 or jcasey@citizentimes.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Madison County breaks ground on new courthouse. What's funding status?
