The Clinton County Courthouse will be closed for the next two weeks due to a structural matter. ‘Read more’ for th official statement from county officials
County maintenance crews Thursday morning found a collapsed support beam in the basement of the Courthouse. A structural engineer from IIW in Dubuque has recommended the building be closed for two weeks. During that time, work can be done to shore up the beams to allow the building to be occupied. More permanent work will be needed after that. According to the engineer, the beams only supported the first floor, not the entire structure.
The preliminary inspection showed the support beam failed due to regular wear. The structural engineer said the Law Enforcement Center construction taking place on the Courthouse grounds did not affect the support beams in the Courthouse.
All court functions while the Courthouse is closed are being moved to the Clinton County Administration Building, 1900 N. 3rd St, Clinton, IA. The Clerk of Courts office will also temporarily relocate the County Administration Building.
“The court system has an emergency plan for just such an occasion and that is to move our operation to the County Administration Building,” said Chief District Court Judge Marlita Greve. “The transition from the Courthouse to the Administration Building went very well today. We also will make space available in the Scott County and/or Jackson County courthouse for any judicial branch employees who need space to work and will have those courthouses available for court hearings if necessary as well. We thank Clinton County for providing us court space in the Administration Building.”
The Board of Supervisors weekly meeting will be moved to the County Satellite Building in DeWitt on Monday due to the courtroom arrangements at the Administration Building.
The main entrance to the Administration Building will be moved during the temporary court arrangements for security purposes. The Administration Building main entrance will be the door on the north end of the building.
