FRANKLIN COUNTY — The Franklin County Board approved hiring White and Borgognoni Architects of Carbondale for the new Franklin County Courthouse project in Benton at Tuesday night’s meeting.

Franklin County Board Chairman Randall Crocker says the contract is for $1.2 million and noted it will take the firm about seven months to do the design and engineering work for the new facility on the Benton Square.

Crocker is hoping that construction on the new courthouse will begin sometime in the Spring of next year with it being finished by Summer 2021.

As for renovations to the Campbell Building where the County Treasurer and County Clerk offices will move to permanently while the Circuit Clerk and Courtrooms will be there temporarily until the new courthouse is finished, Crocker says…

Once that work is done at the Campbell Building, the current courthouse is slated to be demolished sometime after the first of the new year.