Aug. 14—An ad hoc committee reached a consensus Aug. 12 about what were the two most viable options for alleviating the overcrowding problem at the Aiken County Judicial Center sooner rather than later.

One would involve acquiring or working out an arrangement with City of Aiken to use its old Municipal Building at 214 Park Ave. S.W.

The other would be the acquisition of the Charles E. Simons Jr. Federal Courthouse at 223 Park Ave. S.W.

A public affairs officer with the General Services Administration, or GSA, confirmed to the Aiken Standard recently that the process of disposing of the Simons Federal Courthouse by the federal court system is underway.

The county's Judicial Center is at 109 Park Ave. S.E.

"I think 214 Park Ave. at this point would probably be the best fit, but I have not been inside the federal courthouse myself, so I think that's why we should look at both options," said Aiken County Council Chairman Gary Bunker, who appointed the ad hoc committee in May.

The other alternatives Bunker asked the panel to discuss were the construction a new judicial center on property the county owns adjacent to the Aiken County Government Center on University Parkway and the construction of an annex near the current judicial center if suitable property could be found.

Aiken County officials have been pursuing a deal with City of Aiken officials involving the old Municipal Building for two or three years, Bunker said.

But county officials thought that option was off the table after Tim O'Briant, economic development director for the City of Aiken, revealed that the old Municipal Building would be included in the plans for Project Pascalis.

The structure, O'Briant said, would be renovated and expanded to turn it into a conference center with retail space.

More recently, however, Bunker has seen evidence that the Project Pascalis might become a smaller-scale venture.

"My guess is that the entire project is somewhat in flux right now ... as to the scope of it," he said. "There is a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes that I don't think any of us are privy to."

Based on a discussion that Bunker has had with an Aiken City Council member, "my sense is that there is support on City Council for having an arrangement with the county," he said. "I can't say that 100%. I can't say that it's certainty. But I think we're in the ballgame."

There is no schedule for further talks with City of Aiken officials, according to Bunker.

He said it would be "not weeks, not years, but probably months" before it is known if the city will make the old Municipal Building available to the county.

Bunker said the county would like use the old Municipal Building to provide office space for S.C. 2nd Judicial Circuit Solicitor Bill Weeks and his staff.

Aiken County Administrator Clay Killian told the ad hoc committee about the disposal process for the Simons Federal Courthouse.

He said it could be months before the county finds out if it would have an opportunity to make an offer to purchase the building.

The "approval and reporting" part of the process, Killian continued, is scheduled to be completed in mid-to-late September.

Then the Simons Courthouse would be offered to other federal agencies.

If they don't want it, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development would examine the property and determine its suitability for use by organizations that serve the homeless.

If it is, it would be offered for sale to those organizations.

Then private entities and state and local governments would get the opportunity to buy the courthouse "at a fair market value," said Killian, who discussed the process with two GSA representatives.

The GSA's duties include providing workplaces "by constructing, managing and preserving government buildings," according to its website.

It also disposes of surplus property.

In addition during the ad hoc committee meeting, Bunker provided some estimates about the cost to construct a new judicial center. His calculations included the amounts spent by other South Carolina counties to build similar facilities during the 2010s and 2020s.

Based on Bunker's estimates, the cost to build a new judicial center the same size as the current judicial center, which covers 102,000 square feet, would be $36.37 million.

A 10% larger building would cost $40.01 million. One that was 25% bigger would cost $45.47 million.

In its discussion of an annex, the ad hoc committee determined that the county owns a half-acre near the current Judicial Center that might be available for use.

After considering the four options suggested by Bunker, there was a discussion about taking a look at the Farmers and Merchants Bank Building on the corner of Laurens Street and Park Avenue.

The structure is the home of the Bank of America's main Aiken financial center, which will close next May.

Also during the ad hoc committee meeting, which was held at the Aiken County Government Center, County Clerk of Court Bob Harte provided information about the overcrowding problem at the courthouse and other issues, which include leaks, mold and difficulties with keeping the heating, ventilation and air condition system in good working order.

Killian said the county is "approaching" the need to do a major renovation of the existing judicial center and that it might involve closing the building for a while and conducting court business elsewhere temporarily.

There are 113 people working at the current judicial center.

The members of the ad hoc committee in addition to Bunker, Harte and Killian are County Engineer Teresa Crain and County Council members Sandy Haskell, Danny Feagin and Phil Napier.

All were present at the Aug. 12 meeting except for Feagin.