In the end, it wasn’t even close. Augusta County residents voted overwhelmingly to relocate the Augusta County Courthouse from downtown Staunton to Verona on land owned by the county at the Government Center.
Once the courthouse is built, basically all offices for services in the county will be located at the repurposed Smith Transfer Trucking, a goal that had been determined [1] when the county bought the sprawling complex several decades ago.
The vote totals:
-Total number of votes cast: 29,923
-Votes to relocate to Verona: 25,836
-Votes to remain in Staunton: 4,087.
Unlike six years ago when the referendum was overwhelmingly defeated, this time the numbers and costs were up front for all to see. What was true then was still true today but with financial numbers on the ballot, it helped voters better understand the financial breakdown. And that clearly showed a savings of $24 million to rebuild in Verona versus working around the clogged downtown area, where the old Courthouse was landlocked, trying to find a way to expand.
Sen. Emmett Hanger and Del. John Avoli made the referendum possible when they carried bills through the 2022 General Assembly to bring the issue to voters after a circuit court judge ordered the county to bring the courthouse into safety compliance.
Read more….
-WHSV (Harrisonburg): Should the Augusta County Courthouse stay in Staunton or move to Verona? [2]
-News Virginian (Waynesboro): Augusta County voters choose Verona for new county courthouse [3]
-News Leader (Staunton): Augusta County residents vote to build new courthouse building in Verona [4]