STAFFORD — Stafford County won’t see an expansive new courthouse as originally envisioned.
Instead of a $70 million full campus renovation, county leaders decided to renovate only the Circuit Court, bringing the price tag to $26 million.
County officials say “[The full renovation of the courthouse presented] challenges in meeting obligations, impacts of growth, and planning for the future led to a proposed change in funding strategy.”
Courtrooms will be retrofitted instead of being completely rebuilt or renovated. Prior to the decision to scale back plans for a new courthouse, the project was the most expensive in the county’s Capital Improvement Plan, leaving elected officials wrangling with how to pay for it.
A new courthouse was also the centerpiece of a plan to create a pedestrian-friendly Downtown Stafford.
The courthouse has long needed a renovation as county judges have actively been pushing for a renewal or rebuild of the courthouse since 2000.
This year, Circuit Court Judge Victoria Willis judge recused herself from a lawsuit filed against the county over Stafford’s revised cluster development ordinance that limited that restricted the areas of the county where new homes can be built lawsuit, recused herself from hearing the case because she threatened to sue the county if the Board of Supervisors didn’t include a courthouse renovation in its Capital Improvement Plan.
Rockhill District Supervisor Wendy Maurer this past summer reported to the Board that she had received a call from a judge who was threatening to sue the county. Maurer did not name the judge but said that it concerned her of the pending court cases against the county.
“I think we need to look into whether or not it’s appropriate to have our cases heard by the same people who are threatening to sue us,” Maurer said in July.
