Benton – Two town hall meetings regarding a proposed new Franklin County Courthouse in Benton have been scheduled. Franklin County Circuit Clerk Jim Muir says one of the town hall meetings will be held on the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 26 at 6 p.m. in the banquet room at the Benton Elks Lodge. The second town hall meeting is set for the evening of Thursday, March 14 at 6 p.m. at the Zeigler Fire Station. Another town hall is being scheduled for West Frankfort, but a date, time and location is still being worked out at this time according to Muir. Voters in Franklin County will decide on April 2 if they want a one percent sales tax increase that will generate revenue for construction of a new courthouse and nothing else. The current courthouse was built in the 1870’s and is in dire need of replacing due physical and structural problems. County leaders were also told recently by a local architectural firm that the courthouse is not worth renovating and it would be cheaper to build a new courthouse. The sales tax would sunset once the courthouse is paid off.
