Tulsa County's 70-Year-Old Courthouse Receives $27 Million In Federal Funding For Repairs

Tulsa County commissioners approved nearly $27 million in federal funding for repairs to the courthouse.

The country plans to either buy a new building or build a new courthouse.

But the 70-year-old courthouse still has to be maintained until they do that.

Tulsa county commissioner Stan Sallee said marble and brick are falling off of the outside of the building, there are life safety issues, and the HVAC system is a frustrating and costly mess.

Tulsa County Judge Tracy Priddy feels the impact of working in a 70-year-old building, saying last October was difficult.

"It was about 45 to 55 degrees in this courtroom at all times during this week," Judge Piddy said. "The jurors were wrapped up in coats and gloves and hats and blankets, I even had a heated blanket at my bench because it was so cold in here."

The judge said it's important for jurors in the courtroom to have a positive experience.

"If you are a juror serving, we want you to come away from the courthouse having seen how the system works, having experienced it you know from a front-row seat and we want them to be proud of the system they have here in the community," Judge Priddy said.

Sallee said the county is still responsible for courthouse improvements, even if plans are being made to leave within five years.

"This was constructed for 1954 needs and we've used it for as long as we can," Sallee said. "But we're still in it and we still need to take care of it and make it safe."

The county commission has until the end of the year to decide how to spend the $27 million in maintenance money.

A Tulsa architecture firm will help make the priority list.

"We're really going to go through a process of assigning costs to those things and putting them in the order of sequence that we feel is the most important and critical for the life safety and day to day operation of the building," said Chris Lilly with Lilly Architects.

Sallee said the next step is to get estimated costs from the architects in April and accept bids through November.