County offices spread out of courthouse into newly opened annex building
Joyce Lobeck photo
The new annex to the Lake County Courthouse, located just to the southwest of the courthouse, provides much needed additional space for county offices. An open house was held August 9 and as of August 18 offices relocated there are open for business.
courtesy photo
Dave Stipe’s grandson, Brandt, cuts the ribbon for the new Lake County Courthouse annex named for his grandfather as Stipe’s daughter Taylor assists and Commissioner Bill Barron holds the ribbon.
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LAKE COUNTY — Ask Elections Manager Toni Kramer how she feels about the new officers for the department in the just completed Lake County Courthouse Annex, and she answers with a big smile.
“This department is delighted,” she said. “We’re happy. And grateful. It’s amazing. I’m like a kid waiting for Christmas.”
The Elections Department moved last week from its cramped quarters in the basement of the courthouse to more than twice the space on the third floor of the annex. The move not only gives the department’s employees more much needed room, it also better serves the public, providing improved access and handicapped access that wasn’t available before.
After years of planning and a year of construction, the annex is finished. A grand opening was held on August 9 and the offices relocated there are settled and have been open for business as of Monday, Aug. 18, excepting the superintendent of schools office which moves on Sept. 15. The new three-story, nearly 16,000-square-foot building adds more space for several county offices and one elected office. As well as elections and superintendent of schools, they include land planning and environmental health, two sheriff’s detectives, information technology and Geographic Information Systems used for mapping. The annex also houses a new community room for conferences and meetings.
Moving elections out of the bottom floor frees up space to expand the detention area and add beds there, said Gale Decker, chairman of the county commissioners. The former community room on the third floor of the courthouse will be converted to an additional district courtroom the county has needed for some time. As for the remaining space that is now vacant, no final decision has been made on what to do with it, Decker said.
The building has been named the “Dave Stipe Annex” in honor of former long-time Commissioner Dave Stipe, a Charlo-area rancher who died a year before the groundbreaking. Stipe was a beloved public servant who worked tirelessly to improve the lives of the citizens of Lake County, Decker said. “He was quiet, humble, honest, open with everyone. He loved Lake County. We felt naming the building for him would be a good tribute to his service to the county.”
Several of Stipe’s family members were on hand for the opening celebration, among them his daughter and her family, aunt, sisters and several nieces and nephews. His daughter, Taylor, and grandson Brandt Stipe did the ribbon cutting honors.
The grand opening comes a little over a year after the groundbreaking for the annex was celebrated on April 30, 2024. The annex is located on the corner of Fifth Avenue E. and First Street E., kitty corner southwest of the existing courthouse. The new building was completed on budget at a cost of $7 million and on time by general contractor Swank Enterprises.
The annex, which had been in the planning stages for several years, marks the first major building project the county has embarked on since the courthouse was expanded 50 years ago.
“It’s been a long time since the last building project,” Decker said. “It’s all about finances … how to pay for it. We were reluctant to borrow money.”
But it was time. A lawsuit was filed against the county by some inmates of the detention center, claiming crowded conditions of the jail and lack of adequate activity area. The county settled out of court, agreeing to build an outside exercise area and add beds, Decker explained. Rather than write checks to the inmates, an agreement was reached by all parties for the county to put the settlement money toward something to benefit the public, construction of more space for county services.
In addition, the county had been mandated to build a new courtroom after another district judge was added, he said. But there was no space for it in the existing courthouse. There’s also more demand for services as the county continues to grow, now with some 32,000 residents.
“We just needed more space,” Decker said, noting the county had $7 million for the building project. “We borrowed some money, we put a jail levy on property taxes and had some money saved and set aside. We met with Swank and asked if they could do it for $7 million. They said yes and they kept it at $7 million. In three years, it will be paid off.”
Decker recalled that at the groundbreaking, “it seemed like the actual moving was a long time away. But construction went fast and offices are now moving. Employees are so happy, so grateful. There’s excitement for everyone to be moving into their new spaces.”
Commissioner Bill Barron concluded, “It was just something that was needed. People were working hard in difficult conditions. We even had closets turned into offices. We were bursting at the seams. As part of the construction, each office was built with room to expand as needed so it will serve us for years to come.”
