It may not look like a lot is going on around the Adair County Courthouse, but progress continues to be made on the renovation project every day.

"It's still on track for late fall," said Adair County Presiding Commissioner Mark Shahan. "I'm not going to commit to an opening date just yet because we want to make sure that everything's completely done, ready to move in, everything works. We'll have to test all the data systems and everything before we expect the offices to move back to the courthouse. So, we're thinking late fall, maybe November is kind of what they're telling us."

Shahan once again said the total cost of the project will not be more than $8 million.

One thing that is allowing for the project's cost to not exceed that number is the use of America Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.

"The loan looks like it will hold at $8 million," Shahan said. "But, that's because we're going to pay for the elevator with ARPA money. So, we're trying to figure out that paperwork now for that process. We'll have to submit an application ourselves for that ARPA money for that elevator. It'll be a stand-alone line item, so that's how we're going to pay for that."

Shahan does not believe there will be any additional unexpected repairs and that the project will still be completed by late fall.

"We don't expect any more hidden expenses," Shahan said. "We've pretty much-covered everything that you could possibly think of in a courthouse. The findings were [...] we didn't know existed."

In April 2021, a quarter-cent sales tax was passed to help fund the project.

That tax is expected to generate $1.1 million each year.