Seneca County residents to see courthouse plans

7/28/2009

TIFFIN Seneca County residents will get the opportunity to learn more about a plan to renovate the county s 1884 courthouse during a town hall meeting Wednesday at the downtown Ritz Theatre.

Representatives of the Seneca County Courthouse and Downtown Redevelopment Group are scheduled to outline their proposal to restore the courthouse at 6 p.m. The group presented the plan to county commissioners last week and the board is studying it.

The courthouse group said it could renovate the courthouse to accommodate the two common pleas courts and clerk of courts for just under $8 million using a combination of grants, private fund-raising, and a low-interest loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Visitors to the courthouse and the annex building where probate and juvenile courts would be relocated would enter the historic courthouse from the Market Street side. The building s rotunda and dome would be reopened and its clock tower restored.