Could a change in the Madison County Commission chairman position mean a change in the decision to build a new county courthouse?

Madison County Commission Chairman Mac McCutcheon, who replaced U.S. Rep. Dale Strong, said the issue needs more study before a final decision is made.

“With the age of the building, the demands for services, I think the discussion needs to be had,” he said. “I want the commission involved in that. They appropriate funds. We need to do more study on this structure. We need to do more study on the revenue we have available.”

During his State of the County address, Strong announced that a new courthouse would be built. He said during his final meeting as chairman that such a structure could cost more than $65 million. He said after consulting with Chapman Sisson Architects to look at renovations of the current courthouse on the town square would be more than $60 million, which he said did not make “good business sense.”

McCutcheon said he understands that something needs to be done.

“Even before me taking the chairmanship, there’s always been concerns with the courthouse, the age of the building, the maintenance and repair,” he said. “On top of that, the location, because of the demands of the court system, you’ve got people coming from all over the county coming to downtown, and I emphasize this downtown location, which sometimes can be hard for people to get in and out of.”