A new proposal to renovate the historic Gasconade County Courthouse in Hermann is expected to be released publicly prior to the Nov. 4 ballot issue regarding Proposition A  — a petition initiative asking voters to decided if the county government seat should be moved to Owensville.

A dozen area residents attended a town hall meeting at Bland City Hall on Monday to hear an informational report on the Gasconade County Courthouse issue. Proposition A will be on the Nov. 4 ballot and requires a two-third approval for the county seat of government to be moved from Hermann to Owensville. Gerald Ebker, a member of the Courthouse Analysis Committee went over the three options the group presented to county commissioners. Southern District Commissioner Jerry Lairmore (in back, on right) was also in attendance to help answer questions about the proposal. Similar meetings were held Tuesday in Rosebud and Wednesday in Canaan. 

Gasconade County residents have officially been given a site for the possible location of a new government center. It’s in Owensville and formerly served as the OES 3-5 Center and was built in the 1950s as the community’s high school.

DON LENAUER (left) and Jim Decker on Thursday donated the OES 3-5 Center property to Gasconade County for use as a government center. Their donation stipulates the site must be used as a county government center by Jan. 1, 2012, or it will revert back to them and their heirs. Kyle Lairmore, John Kamler, and John Adams are show behind the businessmen during the county commission meeting held at Owensville City Hall.

AN ARCHITECT’S drawing of the proposed county government site at the former OES 3-5 Center includes a walkway through this courtyard leading into the main entrance. The proposal calls for new construction of a three-story addition behind and over the main north-south hallway (middle).

“Do you understand the difference between six and 14?”

COURTHOUSE ANALYSIS Com­-mittee member Gerald Ebker (right) explains the present courthouse site to those attending a town hall meeting Thursday in Owensville. Around 150 attended the event.