(Sarah A. Miller/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

A space many residents encounter inside the Smith County Courthouse is due for an upgrade.

Anyone who has served jury duty in recent years can attest the restroom facilities are dated and dreary.

That may soon change.

On Tuesday, the Smith County Commissioners Court approved the qualifications of architect Mark A. Thacker to sketch out renovation plans for the restrooms in the historic courthouse.

The county budgeted $200,000 for the project, but is hopeful the project will be less expensive. 

“I don’t want this to get out of hand – painting, fixing dividers – we are not looking at a huge undertaking,” Commissioner Jeff Warr said. “We are talking about an update, basically.”

The courthouse has a historical designation. Therefore, all changes must be sketched out by an architect and approved by the state historical board.

The restrooms also have plumbing, electrical and air-conditioning problems that will need to be corrected, said Steve Christian, director of facility services.

“We have some infrastructure issues, mainly with drainage,” Christian said. “We found a lot of drain lines that need to be replaced. Of course, they are connected to the sewer system. There are some electrical issues and some HVAC issues that need to be addressed with incoming and outgoing air.”

The county’s process includes sending out for a request for qualifications from architectural firms. For this project, the county received two packets – one from Thacker and another from Fitzpatrick Architects. Commissioners approved Thacker for the courthouse project, but also “qualified” Fitzpatrick, which makes the firm eligible for future projects with the county.

The actual construction will either be sent out for bids to local contractors to compete for or done in-house.

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