St. Joseph County-City Building to remain closed January 17, unaware residents react

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The St. Joseph County-City, Law, and Courthouse buildings will remain closed tomorrow, January 17th after being closed due to a leak from a fire sprinkler in Courthouse 3, and lack of heat in the buildings that share a boiler that dates back to 1967.

Canceling Tuesday’s Commissioner meeting and several hearings.

ABC57s Jackie Bauer caught up with a few frustrated folks trying to get into the buildings, one even driving all the way from Indianapolis before being greeted with a sign taped to the door saying the building was closed.

She later spoke with Commissioner Baxmeyer, who apologized for any inconveniences caused by the old inefficient heating system that is unable to keep up with these extreme temperatures. 

He says they have made progress on the repair for now and fixed the leak, the system will likely need to be replaced eventually as they look to improve the outdated building with ongoing issues.

“The building is so inefficient, and the system is not designed to be as efficient as other buildings, it just can't put out enough heat to keep the court houses and the other buildings to occupy them and be comfortable and safe,” said Baxmeyer on the 7th floor of the County-City building on Tuesday.

He said officials hope to decide about opening on Thursday, by 2 p.m. Wednesday.

The county advised that felony case hearings will be rescheduled. The signs outside advised, "If you have court today, please reach out to your attorney or check mycase.in.gov for your new date."