By M. Scott Carter
Transcript Staff Writer
With their newly-expanded building “substantially complete,” Cleveland County workers and administrators say they are ready for business come Monday morning.
And while some furniture was still being moved and some boxes were still being unpacked late Friday afternoon, county officials say their new home will be ready for the public next week.
“We’ve got most everything here,” said County Treasurer Saundra DeSelms. “Most of the phones are up and most things are in place; our fax line isn’t working, though. But overall, everything is close.”
DeSelms said she and her crew, along with staff and administrators from the county assessors office, began moving their offices last Wednesday. Other county offices moved throughout this week.
“We’re very pleased by our new space,” she said. “It’s wonderful. We got space for expansion and it’s very bright and airy.”
Marla Caldwell, the office’s second deputy treasurer, said the new building is easier to move around in. “The other building was like a one-way street,” she said. “It wasn’t always easy to get around. This one has much more space.”
For more than two years, county offices have been scattered among buildings on East Robinson and downtown while construction took place. County commissioners, along with the purchasing and safety departments, were located in the Fairgrounds Building.
Offices of the county clerk, county treasurer and county assessor were relocated to the old health department building at 641 E. Robinson St., and the district attorney’s offices have been in the Chase building.
“It’s nice to finally be here,” Caldwell said. “We finished moving much quicker than I thought we would.”
Surrounded by huge windows and scenes of downtown workers, Caldwell said the new building “feels” nice. “I like the way they did the lighting,” she said. “It’s not so stark, it’s easier on the eyes.”
Caldwell and the rest of the treasurer’s staff are located on the first floor. County commissioners and their staffs on the second. Courtrooms are on the third.
“We’re really proud of our new building,” said District 3 County Commissioner Leroy Krohmer. “But we’re even prouder of the fact that we didn’t have to go into debt to build it. We saved for 12 years to build this building.”
Like other offices in the building, Krohmer’s office is big, bright and smells of fresh paint; and, like so many others, still holds boxes waiting to be unpacked.
“We started moving on Tuesday,” he said. “We’re pretty close, but I’ve still got some things to do.”
Down the hall, the commissioners’ meeting room is finished and ready for use Monday. Around the corner, the wall connecting the office building with the courthouse still needs trim work. “It’s going pretty smooth,” Krohmer said. “Today (Friday) is the first day we’ve been in here, but I’m real pleased.”
Built by Oklahoma City’s Nashert Construction, the $9 million project took more than two years to complete; but Krohmer and the rest of the county’s administrators and staff don’t seem to mind.
“We’re very proud of this project,” he said. “Even if it was late. It was worth the wait.”
