Rial: Time for county to begin planning expansion for office, court space needs

Mayor Bob Rial says it is time for Dickson County to begin planning for the expansion of county offices in Charlotte, with the possible creation of a separate criminal justice complex. During discussion on potential new locations for the county’s Dickson satellite offices, Rial said he has asked Maintenance Director W.H. Batey and Codes Officer Donnie Thiel, both Charlotte residents, to begin working with Mayor Bill Davis to come up with ideas for the expansion of the county buildings in Charlotte. The county has been dealing with overcrowding situations in the courthouse annex, which opened in 1977, and off and on has tossed around the idea of a separate criminal justice building to house all the court-related systems. Several years ago the juvenile and probate court was moved into the old Charlotte Elementary School, but Rial and previous administrations have said the annex is still out of space. Former Mayor Bob Stone at one point suggested moving the mayor’s office to the former sheriff’s office training building, but that idea went nowhere. Rial has suggested moving the election office to that building and Monday night brought up the possibility of moving it to the War Memorial Building in Dickson, along with other satellite offices. That would leave open the possibility of tearing down the current election office adjacent to the annex for expansion. But Rial said that does not address the parking problem on the courthouse square, which is overflowing on most court days. Rial said the county is “pretty much landlocked” with its current facilities and will need to look at other options to create additional space, but said county offices and courts will remain in Charlotte. He said the current situation of “intermingled” courts and county offices is not ideal because of the different security requirements. While the mayor said it might be 6-7 years before the county can seriously consider taking any steps to create more space, he wants to begin looking now at creating a long-term plan.