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Marion County Courthouse to get generator and UPS system

By Austin Williams Jan 29, 2025 | 1:15 PM
Marion County Board Chair Steve Whritenour.

The Marion County Board has agreed to install a generator and UPS system at the courthouse to protect electrical equipment and allow the courthouse to stay open during electrical outages.

The decision came after the board was told Tuesday night the county would be responsible for no more than $89,000 of the estimated $362,000 cost.

Marion County Circuit Clerk Tiffany Schicker announced she had obtained some additional technology money that could go towards the project.

Board Chair Steve Whritenour was one of those who was originally opposed.

“We all know that the courthouse, when there’s bad weather or when it seems like there’s snow on the ground, the courthouse closes,” Whritenour said. “At the same time, we have hundreds of thousands of dollars of technology that’s in this building, so it’s vitally important to keep the power on. By getting this grant, I think that eased a lot of the board members’ minds, myself included.”

Whritenour is thanking building and historical committee chair Deb Reed for working with TOPS Electric to develop a plan that would work.

With the board’s approval, TOPS will order the equipment, but the generator is not expected to arrive until late in the year.

The board will try to get all bills for the project submitted by May or June to meet the state guidelines on the grant.

Since the county will not be using $300,000 from its $900,000 loan for building improvements, Whritenour wants to give the money back to the bank.   He hopes they can work towards lower payment on the rest of the money that is being used to replace the courthouse windows that are badly leaking.