GLASGOW – The Barren County Judicial Center Project Development Board agreed Wednesday during a virtual meeting with Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts representatives to advertise for bids for an architect for a new judicial center.

The 56,500-square-foot building will house circuit and district courts, as well as the circuit clerk’s office. The location of the building hasn’t been determined.

The bids are scheduled to be opened and reviewed at the board’s meeting Jan. 27.

“We should be in a new facility by 3½ years after we start in January,” said Ronnie McCall, manager of facilities for the AOC.

Officials are looking at late 2023 or early 2024 for project completion, McCall said.

The board also discussed parking needs for the building.

Barren Circuit Court Judge John Alexander, the board’s vice chairman, asked AOC officials how the number of parking spaces for the building would be determined.

“A program document will obviously have a footprint of the building, but it also outlines, based off the size of the building and the amount of foot traffic that you will have, the amount of cubic yards of parking; not only public parking but staff parking and then our secure parking for our elected officials,” said Danny Rhoades, executive officer of the AOC’s Department of Court Facilities.

Alexander asked if there was any way to determine how many acres of land would be needed for parking for a specific amount of square feet.

“Obviously, there is a margin of error there because there is a difference in a three-story building and a two-story building and whatever, but how do we get our head around that,” Alexander said.

Generally, the amount of land needed for parking in a downtown area is about two acres, Rhoades said.

There was also discussion about secure parking being made available underground.

“We did not anticipate doing that. That’s not saying that is off the table. A lot of times we do look at that,” Rhoades said.

Barren District Court Judge Gabe Pendleton, a board member, asked if the purchase of land would be something the board would have to advertise.

Rhoades said it would need to occur during a public hearing, which is when the sites will be evaluated and a decision will be made as to what is the best option for the project.

The board also talked about the board’s administrative/secretary and her duties. It agreed to appoint Sherry Jones, finance officer and fiscal court clerk in Barren County Judge-Executive Micheal Hale’s office, to the position.