Augusta County Board of Supervisors votes to continue negotiations with Staunton on courthouse

The Augusta County Board of Supervisors voted Wednesday night to continue negotiations with Staunton on a consolidated courthouse plan.

The 5-2 vote calls for the county and the city to continue negotiations toward a plan with a Dec. 1 deadline. If an agreement isn’t met by the deadline, the board will discuss the option of going to county voters for a referendum on moving the county seat from Staunton to Verona and building a new courthouse there.

The new round of negotiations will also include Waynesboro in the talks.

The county has developed plans for a new $44 million courthouse complex in Verona. Staunton has proposed improvements to the current courthouse in Downtown Staunton with new construction included that would cost $44 million, with Staunton assuming $13 million of that overall cost.