By Shannon McFarlin, News Director
Paris, Tenn.–Henry County is in the running for a grant which would refurbish the bell tower that looks over the city of Paris from atop the county courthouse. Workmen are currently installing new windows on the third floor of the courthouse and a project to refurbish the bricked walkway on the west side of the courthouse will start soon.
In discussion of these and other projects, the courthouse committee met Tuesday afternoon and voted unanimously to change its name to the ‘buildings and grounds’ committee to cover oversight of all seven county buildings, not just the courthouse. The name change will have to go before the full county commission before it’s formalized. The seven structures include the courthouse, courthouse annex, Weston Hall, Central Services building, Henry County Health Department, Tennessee Rehabilitation Center, and 911 emergency complex on Hwy. 79N.
The committee also reorganized, with Marty Visser elected Chairman; Patrick Burns Vice Chairman and Chuck Elizondo Secretary.
The workmen started Monday on installing the windows on the third floor “and all the windows they should be water tight when they’re done,” County Mayor John Penn Ridgeway said. With the third floor installation, that should cover the windows for the entire courthouse, he said.
They think they will be able to replace 6-8 windows a day and there are a total of 26 windows on the third floor. Ridgeway said there has been a problem of water coming in through windows when it rains and it has never been corrected over the years. The new windows look good, too. “You can’t tell the difference between them and the original windows,” he said.
Henry County made it through the first round of the grant to restore the bell tower, which “is rotten at this point”, Ridgeway said. “The tower as a whole is rotten now.”
The deadline is in June and the grant is being written by County Clerk and Master Albert Wade.
Burns said, “I have no intention of saddling the taxpayers with the cost of refurbishing the annex and Grove to pay for 40-50 years of neglect. We just need to concentrate on this building (the courthouse).”
Ridgeway noted that the courthouse “is the oldest working courthouse in west Tennessee” and can be restored. The TLM engineering firm is working with the county on the project.
Other buildings, such as the courthouse annex and Weston Hall, would require much more work—and a lot more money. “The courthouse annex would take $15-$20 M because it’s been neglected for decades. I agree we need to concentrate on the courthouse. Really, the best building we have right now is the Central Services building.”
Photo: Workmen have begun installing new water-tight windows on the third floor of the courthouse. (Shannon McFarlin photo).