The Garfield County Courthouse in historic Panguitch is old, grand and built by hand. County residents want to preserve that character as part of the area’s history and heritage. For the past 15 years, a committee has been planning a restoration project by squirreling away county dollars in a capital improvements fund and obtaining grants. Plans call for leaving the red-brick structure in place, installing a facade similar to the original structure over the walls of an earlier, more modern addition, and renovating the interior. A seismic upgrade is also part of the face-lift.
The county is ready to move ahead with the project, expected to be completed in July 2012 at a cost of $4.6 million. About $700,000 of that amount will come from a grant through the state Community Impact Board, which uses mineral royalties paid to Utah to help fund community projects. Salt Lake Tribune