Firmer foundation

It likely will be at least a few more months before a flag again flies over the Spokane County Courthouse.

The wooden structure that held the 1-ton steel pole was damaged in a windstorm in November. The leaning flagstaff, which rose 50 feet above the courthouse tower, was removed by a crane a couple weeks later.

County leaders, who briefly discussed the possibility of putting a flag elsewhere on courthouse grounds, say they are now committed to flying it on top of the building.

“I’d like to see it back,” said Superior Court Judge Robert Austin. “It looks kinda naked.”

But first, the county has sought advice from Coffman Engineers.

“We want to make sure structurally we get this right,” said Ron Oscarson, the county’s facilities director. “I tell people that our courthouse is like a big Jenga game. We don’t want to make changes that will pull the wrong Jenga block out.”

The county commissioned Coffman to do a structural study of the courthouse before the flagpole was damaged. Preliminary results indicate the building, which has 3-foot-thick walls in places, has weathered its 112 years quite well, Oscarson said.

Oscarson said the new flagpole and supports likely will be modified. In the old system, the pole sat on what amounted to a tree trunk that rested on the 10th floor of the courthouse (the last full floor of the tower) and was held in place by several wooden beams. The flagstaff stuck through a hole at the top, which allowed rain and bird droppings inside.

Weather took a toll on the wooden support beams, and Oscarson said it would cost about $15,000 to put the pole back as it was.

A new system likely will be weatherproof and cost more.

The county plans to apply for grant money to make historic renovations. Some of that money could help pay for a new flagpole. Oscarson also hopes to install entrance doors that resemble the originals and redo portions of the interior to unmask archways and original white brick walls.

Oscarson said the new flagpole likely will be aluminum; that will mean the county won’t have to dish out a couple thousand dollars every few years to paint it. The new pole may not stand as high, he said. An 1895 picture of the courthouse shows a shorter pole. The larger one was put in place sometime by the mid-1910s.