Martin County judge declares local state of emergency for historic courthouse after cost jump to about $1.1 million

Martin County’s Judge Executive declared a local state of emergency for the historic Martin County Courthouse and the fiscal court approved a revised insurance-contract amount after inspectors required substantial electrical and code upgrades.

The declaration, read into the record at the April 15 meeting, said the courthouse “received significant damage during a fire on 04/10/2023” and that state inspectors subsequently identified required code work. The judge said the county initially awarded repair work to SERVPRO and that the newly calculated cost to bring the building into compliance is $1,106,606.58; the court approved the contract authorization and the emergency declaration by voice vote.

Why it matters: The change orders more than doubled the contract amount the county had previously budgeted for courthouse repairs. The judge told the court the state and county auditors recommended declaring a local state of emergency to allow the county to continue with the existing contractor and to complete the urgently required corrective work.

Court records cited in the motion state the earlier award to SERVPRO dated 07/20/2023 was for approximately $566,173.26; the judge said state inspection findings required additional, costly electrical work that drove the new total to about $1.1 million. He told the court the decision to declare an emergency and proceed with the contract followed conversations with state inspectors and the auditors.

The court voted to approve the executive’s motion without opposition. The judge said the declaration and contract authorization were included in the meeting record and in the motion passed at the meeting.

Next steps: With the emergency declaration in place, county officials said they will proceed with the required repairs and work with inspectors and the awarded contractor to bring the courthouse into compliance.