Executive Summary

Pendleton County

The Pendleton County Courthouse is a historic Greek Revival style structure which is on the historic register. It has a large entry portico and brick exterior. The building is in good repair having had a new roof and other recent renovations. There have been two major upgrades to the building. In 1995 the courthouse was upgraded with the addition of an elevator, ADA entrance, and stairway. A recent (2002) renovation included a new roof, a holding cell, technology upgrades and climate controls.

The courthouse needs to upgrade its security. We recommend installing a secure entry point that utilizes a walk through metal detector and an X-ray screener. All perimeter doors not being used for entry-level screening should be used for emergency exits only. These doors should also be secured by installing an audible alarm, magnetic contacts, and a crash bar. Duress alarms should be installed where needed, notably beneath the judge’s desk, secretary’s desk, judge’s bench in the courtroom, hearing table in the jury room, and the clerk’s desk. The judge’s bench and clerk’s desk should be protected with ballistic material on sides with public exposure. All light switches should be replaced with key-controlled switches, and breaker boxes should be locked.

The Pendleton County Jail is in very poor condition. It is a two-story brick structure with a one story brick addition on the rear. It has a large crack in the exterior brick wall between the two story side and the one story side. The building is in poor repair with a leaking roof and old windows. The building is abandoned. We recommend demolishing the building.

The county has a study by Sean G. Simon, AIA Architect, dated October 15, 2002, recommending that the Jail be razed. He proposed that it would cost $918,000 to repair the jail building and it still would not serve the county’s needs. This current study suggests that the jail building be demolished and a 4,200 square feet annex be built in its place. The annex could be attached to the existing building.

Estimated total cost: $1,151,640.

Pendleton Index Page