New Carbon County Courthouse Could Harm Price CIty

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Wednesday night, a public hearing was held for Price City. The biggest matter up for discussion was the use of two orphaned lots within the city. A few members of the council wanted to merge them and then later on decide what would be done with the lot. However, they do have high hopes that a new courthouse will be built on the site, which caused concern among the citizens.

While the idea to build a new courthouse isn’t a fresh idea, it feels brand new to the people who attended the meeting and the majority were not in favor. The biggest issues of concern were the effects  a vacant courthouse would have on main street businesses and tourists planning on entering the city. It was suggested that before any big decisions were made, the city and county should have a clear plan as to what would be happening with the old court house.

Another idea that caused issue for certain concerned attendants was how it would look if the county spent so much money on a new courthouse, while they still have no recreational center for the youth of Price and surrounding areas. Not only was this a problem for citizens, but there were a few concerns over how moving the courthouse to 100 North would affect traffic flow along the street. However, these worries were addressed as it was explained traffic has been taken into consideration.

County Commissioner John Jones addressed the council and attendants in order to explain the county’s plan. He voiced that there has been an issue with parking, that there were not enough spots to keep up with the amount of people working and visiting the court house. Not only this, but the courthouse is at maximum capacity.

Another solution he pointed out was the majority of visitors to the courthouse for trials before the judge. With Main Street being the most common street for visitors to travel, John believes that placing a family friendly facility where the old court house previously stood would be even more beneficial than the courthouse itself.

There is also the fact that the county currently has a grant for six million dollars that would help build the courthouse. This would mean that little tax money would be used toward the project. A new courthouse is inevitable and if the project was halted even further, the county would lose it’s grant and building plans would continue  would have to be built with the help of taxpayer dollars. Commissioner Jones also stated he would like to see  a new library replacing the current courthouse where children can go and expand their imaginations and education.

Despite the valid reasons for building a new building, concerned citizens are skeptical as to whether or not this will be smart for Price City.

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