BY TRACY LEE TATE
Times Editor
LAKE BUTLER— The Union County Board of County Commissioners, at their regular Aug. 15 meeting, approved the reapplication for a Special Category Historical Grant, through the Florida Department of State, in the sum of $500,000 for the restoration of the historic Union County Courthouse.
The county, with the help of North Florida Professional Service, originally applied for the grant in 2020 and the project should have been funded then, but the funds were reallocated to COVID relief. The county reapplied in June 2022, requesting the maximum amount obtainable.
Work listed as being needed on the grant application included roof replacement, window and window casing replacement, plaster repair due to the water damage from the leaking roof, exterior stonework repair and the modifications necessary to equip the structure with an entrance in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The courthouse was designed by John Pearson in the classical revival style and built in 1936 by the Works Project Administration to serve Union County, which had separated from Bradford County in 1921. The courthouse was located on the site of a former courthouse (which was moved and repurposed as a home for the Lake Butler Women’s Club and is still in use, and largely restored, by that organization) that served New River County, Bradford County’s original name. In 1967 additions to the courthouse were designed by Harry E. Burns, Jr. and built by Vinson J. Forrester, Jr.
The terms of the grant require a 25% match of funds, which came be provided in a combination of cash and in-kind services, although it is required that the cast portion be at least one quarter of this match be in cash. Union County is a REDI Community (Rural Economic Development Initiative), and that program will provide 25% of the required matching funds, in the sum of $125,000.
The remaining match will be made up of 25% cash ($31,250) and 75% ($93,750) in in-kind services. In other words, the county will be spending $31,250 to get $500,000 to do the much needed work, some of which has needed to be done for several years. The work needed on the roof of the historical building has put off for many years, with frequent stop-gap patching to prevent extensive water damage.
As part of the application the county is required to approve a resolution stating that it agrees that the building and site “should be restored and returned to vibrant public use in a timely manner and encourages the community and government to support these actions.”
The resolution calls for the use of appropriate public funds to support this restoration and repair in the form of matching funds, that is guarantees will be available within 90 days of the grant award (to be done in 2024).
During the discussion of the application in the meeting, commissioners review photographs of the damage to the very building in which they were meeting. Although the building is still safe for public use, it would not be in many more years. The amount the county will have to pay in matching funds will be a small fraction of what the cost of the needed work if it has to be paid for entirely with local funds.
After discussion, the board voted unanimously to reapply for the grant and approve the resolution that is part of the application process upon a motion by Commissioner Channing Dobbs. The rest of the application will be executed by County Coordinator Jimmy Williams, with assistance once again from NFPS.
The Union County Courthouse serves as the home for many of the county’s constitutional offices, including those of the tax collector, the property appraiser, the clerk of court and comptroller and the sheriff’s office. The upstairs holds the county courtrooms and the offices of judges and other legal staff. It is the governmental financial and legal center for the county.
