The Goshen News

GOSHEN — Elkhart County will have a new, consolidated courthouse constructed on the north edge of Goshen in the future.

The Elkhart County Courthouse in Goshen. Photo provided.

The Elkhart County Council on Saturday approved funding the estimated $80 million project by a vote of 5-0. Voting for the issue were Doug Graham, David Hess, Darryl Riegsecker, Randy Yohn and Tom Stump. Councilmembers John Letherman and Tina Wenger abstained.

The vote followed a request by the three Elkhart County commissioners to consolidate the court operations in Goshen and Elkhart into a new complex. The new facility will be constructed on vacant property along Reliance Road. The cost of that property is about $565,000.

“We are able to purchase 33 acres there for a reasonable price,” county commissioner Mike Yoder told the council. “That allows us some additional room for expansion in the future. The other site is about 11 acres and doesn’t allow quite that amount of options for expansion in the future.”

Yoder admitted there are traffic access issues for the Reliance Road site and said county highway engineers believe those can be solved. In addition, he said the Goshen Redevelopment Commissions commitment made Tuesday to provide $1.5 million for infrastructure improvements will greatly help.

“In Goshen we have had the same stance we had when we became part of this, that we would like to see the downtowns renovated,” said Goshen Mayor Jeremy Stutsman before the council vote. “That is still our hope that that is possible … If the renovation piece is not possible, if that is off the table, we definitely want to be supportive of the location at 17 (Reliance Road) and U.S. 33. That is not because it is in the city of Goshen, it’s because it is between the two downtowns.”

Stutsman said he believes the location is the best if consolidation happens because it is near the center of the county’s population.

Elkhart Mayor Rod Roberson and others from Elkhart lobbied the council members hard to have their decision set aside for 90 days to allow for an economic impact on downtown Elkhart to be completed. He said the courthouse provides around 200 jobs and is an economic factor in the city.

He added that he and Stutsman were not brought into the consolidation discussion by the commissioners and council until August and have not had time to have a study conducted.

This story was made available through HSPAInfoNet.