BROOKHAVEN — Lincoln County Justice Court Judges Ian Smith, Roger Martin and Justice Court Clerk Christy Sheppard asked the Board of Supervisors to tour the court Monday. Supervisors did just that Wednesday and left the building brainstorming what can be done to help fix a few issues. 

Number one issue for the Justice Court is a lack of space. Supervisors squeezed into the courtroom during session Wednesday to find all of the seats taken with about 28 people sitting in the courtroom. They watched proceedings from the wall and found some amusement in seeing Lincoln County Prosecutor and Board Attorney Greg Malta sit at a small desk. 

District 4 Supervisor Eli Ferguson pointed out after the tour to Ryan Holmes the three different types of brick used for the building. District 5 Supervisor Doug Falvey told the group the situation of overcrowding, roof leaks and other issues were not something which happened overnight. 

“The three of us are trying to get attention for the justice court with any budget for renovations,” Smith told the board Monday. “We are all guest judges in other jurisdictions and our court is not up to par with others. I encourage all of you to tour the justice court. Some of the floor is patchy, I would like to see new flooring, at least a solid consistent floor and a new coat of paint.” 

Sheppard showed supervisors around the tight outdated building Wednesday afternoon. She pointed to one spot in a judge’s office where a roof leak had caused some water damage. 

She had told the board Monday the courtroom was about half the size of the current Board of Supervisors room. Wednesday it was pretty evident to Supervisors what she meant. Malta told the board the docket was only about medium in size. On busy days, 50 to 60 people could be there for court. 

“It can be a legal problem because by law it is an open court. They have facility limitations which could cause some problems,” Malta said Monday. “The public are able to come in and watch. On some days we have to say if you don’t have criminal charges you can’t come in due to space.” 

Smith said Monday they could sit 26 people comfortably. On busy days, people line up the halls. The footprint of the building is very limited. 

Martin thanked the board Monday for providing Justice Court with a place. He told them the roof needs to be fixed. 

Calcote said Monday he has a plan for funding work on the building. 

“What I plan to do as long as there are no major costs over run, I have money set aside to change the roof and we can get all the departments together. We will talk about the city side and what we will do when they move out,” Calcote said. “When they do the bond next year we can figure out what we need to do renovations for.”