County officials should have no problem filling the open space in the courthouse created by the migration of four county offices to the new county complex on Congress Boulevard.
During the last meeting of the commission, County Mayor Mike Foster told the assembly that the Tennessee Highway Patrol and The Chamber of Commerce will move to the courthouse in the near future.
In a move that will be financially beneficial to the chamber, offices will move from its current workspace on the square into the old county clerk or register of deeds office in the courthouse.
Chamber director Suzanne Williams told the Review Monday that she is very excited about the move, and is looking forward to new accomodations in the courthouse.
“I can’t wait,” Williams said. “I am just so appreciative of the members of the county commission for allowing us to do this, and I think it’s going to be a good fit.
“We are going to have new signage out front eventually so people will be able to find us, and the new office is going to be just great!” Williams concluded.
The local THP office, currently located in the old Veteran's Building on 3rd Street, is expected to move into the old trustee's office.
Tentative plans also call for the county mayor to take one of the vacant offices.
Circuit Court Clerk Katherine Pack will most likely keep her offices upstairs, as well as taking over the current mayor’s office for record storage.
“We’re painting now, and we should have the highway patrol offices ready to move into in about a week,” Foster said.
From there, the courthouse should be repopulated quickly, as requests for office space have been made by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the local Veterans Administration and the county drug court.
TBI agent Billy Miller has asked officials to allocate office space for a local TBI office.
DeKalb's veteran’s service officer  Paul Cantrell also needs an office to meet and counsel with veteran's and their families, as well as a secure place to store records.
Judge Bratten Cook has also requested office space for the county drug court.
Seventh District Commissioner Jimmy Poss made clear his opinion that the county should take care of current courthouse tenants who are pressed for space, especially the election commission offices, before the building is filled with new occupants.
"I think we should take care of the ones in the courthouse first before we start giving rooms out," said Poss.
"We've got an office (election commission) right over here  that's crammed up, pushed up, and the guy needs room. I mean, everybody's wanting to come into the courthouse."
"I don't think everybody is,” Foster replied. “ I think we've got two people that are wanting to. We've also got to look at space for Paul Cantrell. He has been using our conference room and working around me. That's not a good situation for him. Now that he is having to do it all on computer, he is going to have to have space with a computer. He's got to have a locked storage space for veteran's records. That's going to require some space.
“ I think the chamber has agreed to move back into the courthouse because they need more space, and they need to cut expenses.”
“I agree,” said Poss. “I just think we should take care of the people who are already here first.”
“I agree too,” Foster said. “That is what we are trying to do.”
“If we are not careful we are going to be out of space again,” Poss interjected. “That’s all I’m saying.”
“That is very true,” Foster replied.
“I think we should put the veterans offices in equally with these other people who are looking for office space,”  said 7th District Commissioner Larry Summers.
“How are we going to honor our veterans, past and present and future, if we don’t?” Summers inquired. “I think it is honoring our people who serve and have served, and I think we should make it a priority.”
“I think so too,” Foster replied, “I think that when we get a little farther along and get some of these old offices cleaned out, I think we will be okay.”
The commission granted Foster leave to proceed with the reassignments, but all parties agreed to keep the commissioners up to date on all future moves.