The Limestone County Commission is expected to approve the hiring of an architect Monday who will be asked to draw up plans to renovate the Limestone County Courthouse.

“We’re going to sit down with an architect and tell him what we want done to the courthouse,” said Commission Chairman David Seibert. “Once the project is completed we think it will be something we can be proud of. It’s something we’ve got to do.”

Planned is the construction and renovation of four courtrooms including two for the circuit court and two for district court.

More courtrooms are needed to handle the case load in the court system, commissioners said.

In addition to the courtrooms, the offices of Limestone County Circuit Court Clerk Charles Page and District Attorney Kristi Valls on the first floor will be expanded and other offices will be upgraded to meet the state fire code.

“Right now, the second floor of the courthouse is not being utilized,” Seibert said. “But once this renovation project is completed, everything up there will be utilized.”

Alabama Chief Justice Drayton Nabers Jr. in a letter to Limestone Circuit Judges Jimmy Woodroof and Bob Baker said Limestone County is disposing of cases at a rate of 100.3 percent, which he said ranks third in the state.

“I would like commend both of you (Woodroof and Baker) for your outstanding performance in case management for fiscal year 2005,” Nabers wrote in his Dec. 7, 2005 letter. “Caseload statistics indicate that during this period, you received 2,448 case filings and disposed of 2,603 cases.”

The offices of Probate Judge Mike Davis, License Commissioner Greg Tucker and Revenue Commission Brian Patterson moved to the new Clinton Street Annex two years ago along with the driver’s license offices and Limestone County Board of Registrars.

“We have two judges for one district court and two judges for one circuit court,” Seibert said. “We don’t have any jury rooms and people have to sit outside in the hallway if they are waiting to testify in case.”

In addition, he said during one recent day the county had 1,800 people in traffic court at the courthouse.

Commissioners estimated that once the architect is hired, the project will be ready for bids within the next year.

“When we hire an architect Monday he will be asked to develop a plan and we will proceed from there,” Seibert said. “We’ve been talking about this project for a while now. It is time we moved on it.”

The agreement between the architect — 2WR/Holmes Wilkins Architects Inc. — and commissioners is on the agenda for vote Monday. Commissioners have not heard any opposition to the plan as yet.