MISSISSIPPI COUNTY COURTHOUSE STILL AWAITING DELIVERY OF LIMESTONE

CHARLESTON - The Mississippi County Commission is between a rock, or lack thereof, and a hard place concerning the courthouse construction.

The stone for the exterior base of the courthouse has not yet arrived. The stone was measured in the first of the year and should have been delivered by late February or early March.

But as of Thursday morning, the county commissioners still hadn't seen the limestone. Nor had some unsympathetic county residents.

Presiding commissioner Jim Blumenberg said that even a phone call to the supplier hasn't provided any more information. No one can give an answer on when, or if, the stone will arrive.

Last month, courthouse architect Bill Green and Charles Walker of C.A. Walker Construction Co. presented commissioners with a construction update.

During that meeting, Walker said he was having difficulty with the vendor not confirming delivery dates for the limestone. He estimated eight weeks would be needed to complete brick and other stone work, once the crew could begin.

About two weeks later, County Clerk Junior DeLay told commissioners that stone materials for the west side of the courthouse should arrive by June 15.

Blumenberg said that if the delivery of the limestone is delayed much longer, the bricklayers may not have enough time to complete their work before the construction season ends.

The commissioners agreed to ask Green and Walker to attend a commission meeting next week to discuss alternatives for the limestone. They will also be asked about choosing a different color of brick at the base of the limestone.

But construction delays weren't the only topic of business related to the courthouse. Commissioners selected a stain for the wainscotting inside the building.

The shade of stain was selected to match that of an oak plaque with the Great Seal of Missouri on it to be used in the new courthouse.

The commission also approved a lease purchase construction loan from Citizen's Bank to fund the courthouse. Between $400,000 and $600,000 will be needed to complete construction and furnish the new courthouse.

The total cost was estimated to be around $2.6 million, with $2.2 million coming from the three-year sales tax and from insurance compensation for the old courthouse, which burned Feb. 10, 1997.