WELLSBURG — Many attending the grand opening Tuesday of the Brooke County Judicial Center commented on the three-story building’s elegant wood trim and furnishings and its spacious courtrooms, offices and meeting rooms.
But in addressing them in its main courtroom, A.J. Thomas, president of the Brooke County Commission, said it should be more than brick and mortar and its many other physical components.
“Let this building serve as a beacon of hope and a symbol of this county’s dedication to justice,” he said.
First Judicial Circuit Court Judge Jason Cuomo noted on the exterior of the building is engraved the preamble to the West Virginia State Constitution, an element suggested by Thomas.
Through it, the state’s founders affirmed their belief that divine providence had allowed them to enjoy civil, political and religious liberty and their intention, through their faith in God, to govern the state “for the common welfare, freedom and security of ourselves and our posterity.”
Cuomo noted the former courthouse, built in 1849 and replacing a previous one established in 1799, had been expanded to serve a growing number of county services until very little space remained.
“We were literally bursting at the seams,” said the judge, who noted the use of the commission’s meeting room for court matters and storage of election equipment had forced the panel at times to meet in the furnace room of the basement.
Cuomo applauded former county commissioners Tim Ennis and Jim Andreozzi and current commissioners Stacey Wise, Tom Diserio and Thomas for initiating the project and seeing to its completion.
He also acknowledged the role of the county’s volunteer building commission, through which the sale of $15 million in bonds made it financially possible.
Recognition also went to Russ Burns, a veteran local contractor hired to serve as clerk of courts, which involved monitoring the building’s progress and serving as liaison between the commission and the project’s contractor, Rycon Construction.
Thomas and others applauded the efforts of the Pittsburgh-based contractor and McKinley Architecture and Engineering of Wheeling, which designed the 33,000-square-foot structure.
State Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Wellsburg, and state Del. Jimmy Willis, R-Brooke, said the judicial center’s completion is the latest in a series of recent developments, from the opening of the new Ohio River bridge to groundbreakings for new industries, that bode well for Brooke County’s future.
Weld said the judicial center and the new bridge “are symbols of progress, symbols of a bright future.”
“This is just another step forward in the progress we’ve seen in Brooke County in the last few years,” said Willis.
Dan Otto, president of the Wellsburg Chamber of Commerce — which organized a ribbon cutting for the occasion — said the group has been happy also to be involved with the opening of the bridge and several new businesses.
He presented for the courthouse a painting of the center, as seen from the Ohio River, produced by his wife, Ashley.
Former commissioner Ennis noted several Wellsburg locations were considered when the project was in its earliest stages of planning, but the decision was made to keep it close to the current courthouse and Wellsburg City Hall.
“I think the Brooke County Commission made a $15 million improvement to our county seat,” he said.
Because the lot is in the 100-year floodplain, it had to be elevated before construction began.
Ennis noted that in addition to providing additional space for the circuit, magistrate and family courts, the new building addresses various security issues.
He noted former county commissioner Jim Andreozzi, after riding the single elevator at the old courthouse with a handcuffed inmate and corrections officer, expressed concerns about citizens having the same experience.
Courthouse staff normally saw the elevator was cleared for such visitors, who were there for court hearings.
But Ennis noted that will no longer be an issue, with a second elevator and separate entrance to be used at the new facility.
Brooke County Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Barki noted another change has occurred: the relocation of the county prosecutor’s office, which for many years occupied a private law office, to the building.
The county’s probation department also has moved to the new building.
Barki said there are plans to name the new prosecutor’s office for local attorney David B. Cross, who had held the position for many years.
Representatives of U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.; and U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va.; shared letters from the two congratulating Brooke County officials on the achievement.
Manchin also sent a U.S. flag that had been flown over the Capitol.