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Historical Society's snub no way to resolve issues

If the leaders of the Citrus County Historical Society harbor any hope of working out an arrangement with Citrus County in their dispute over space allocation in the Historic Courthouse in downtown Inverness, they must change their tactics.

While the Society might have valid arguments, by choosing not to attend a meeting of all the affected parties that Commission Chairwoman Vicki Phillips had set up for Tuesday afternoon, the group did nothing to help its cause. In fact, it likely squandered whatever sympathy it had among the county officials and the public.

The debate centers on the use of the old courthouse, with the Historical Society and Clerk of Courts Betty Strifler's office both laying claiming to about 500 square feet of space. The Clerk's Office says it needs the room so that county archives can be stored and reviewed; the Historical Society wants the space for its office functions.

Factor in that the county owns the building and that the judiciary has a right to use the courthouse as well and it is obvious that negotiations and compromise are the only way this impasse can be resolved.

State law, Strifler says, mandates that the clerk maintain county records and that the archival records remain in the the county seat. That would seem to negate an option that the Historical Society is advocating, and provide a reason it cited for skipping the meeting, which is that the Clerk's Office might soon get a new records storage facility in Lecanto.

The state also requires that the county provide room for the archives and the Historic Courthouse is the logical place to house them. Phillips points out that the grants the county received to restore the aging structure in the 1990s dictate that the records be kept there.

The Historical Society rightly notes that the old courthouse would not have been restored at all had it not been for its members' tireless fundraising and promotional efforts. The leaders say the lease they have with the county to operate the facility gives them the right to decide how the space is used.

Add to this the voice of the judiciary. Circuit Judge Patricia Thomas on Tuesday said that even with the recent additions to the so-called new courthouse, space is tight. With the possibility of Citrus County getting another judge, the restored courtroom in the Historic Courthouse, which is now used mostly for ceremonies, could soon become very active.

Tuesday, all of the parties - except one - managed to find time to attend this scheduled meeting, which was envisioned as the first step toward reaching a compromise.

It takes a minor miracle to clear the schedules of the county's chief judge, the chairwoman of the County Commission, the clerk of courts, the director of court services, the county administrator and the county attorney. Each of these busy officials, however, deemed this issue important enough to carve out a big piece of their day to attend.

For the Historical Society's leaders to snub these officials was both needlessly insulting and unwise.

Several members of the Historical Society's board of directors did attend the meeting, however, but not as official representatives. Their presence, and comments, indicate that there is a division of opinion among Historical Society members on how the organization should handle the dispute.

The Historical Society's directors have appointed a negotiating committee, which met recently with Strifler to present an agreement that would essentially remove all evidence of the clerk's office from the courthouse. Among the points are that county records could stay until the new storage facility is built; all signs stating Clerk of the Circuit Court would be removed; job titles and descriptions would be changed; and even the clerk's desk would be replaced with something smaller.

Strifler, to no one's surprise, seems disinclined to agree to any of the proposals.

The County Commission ultimately will decide this matter, and Tuesday, Phillips said the county will begin work on an operating agreement that will replace the current lease for the Historic Courthouse when the lease expires in the spring.

That agreement will spell out the details of how the space inside the building will be allocated. Phillips said the county wants the agreement to be flexible enough to accommodate the needs of everyone involved, particularly the public. This approach is in the best interest of all of the affected parties.

The Historical Society clearly has a role in this process, but its wishes will be heard only if its leaders attend the pertinent meetings and participate in these vital discussions.

They must act now, however, because the county is moving toward a resolution of this matter, with or without them.

[Last modified September 1, 2005, 00:57:17]