Board Advances Historic Courthouse Renovations with Porch Repairs and Board Room Upgrades

Montgomery County Board Meeting | February 10, 2026

Article Summary: The Montgomery County Board approved a pair of renovation proposals from Cinric Painting to restore and preserve the architectural integrity of the Historic Courthouse, targeting both the exterior south porch and the interior County Board Room.

Courthouse Renovations Key Points:

• The board approved a $17,900 proposal to repair and paint the south porch of the Historic Courthouse.

• Cinric Painting will also refinish the historic woodwork inside the County Board Room.

• The interior woodwork restoration is being funded through a $10,000 DCEO grant and a $3,000 pledge from Resident Circuit Judge Kit Hantla.

The Montgomery County Board on Tuesday, February 10, 2026, voted unanimously to move forward with significant aesthetic and structural restorations at the Historic Courthouse in Hillsboro.

Buildings & Grounds Committee Chairman Mark Hughes presented two proposals from Pawnee-based contractor Cinric Painting & Remodeling. The first approved project is a $17,900 exterior renovation of the courthouse’s south porch. The scope of work includes utilizing fiber mesh plaster to repair damaged areas on the front columns, as well as repainting the trim, moldings, handrails, and the second-story corbels and soffit fascia.

Inside the facility, the board accepted a bid from Cinric to restore the historic woodwork within the County Board Room. The contractor will clean, hand-sand, and apply a custom stain to the judge’s bench, the elevated paneling, the side stair handrails, and the decorative moldings throughout the room. The board specifically opted for staining the wood rather than painting it to preserve its historic character, while excluding the railing in front of the public seating area from the current scope.

Hughes noted that the interior woodwork project will not require general county funds. Instead, it will be financed using the remaining balance of a $10,000 grant from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). The county previously spent $4,096.33 of that grant to purchase custom bench cushions from Double E Upholstery, leaving $5,903.67 available. Resident Circuit Judge Kit Hantla has also pledged $3,000 toward the woodwork restoration, with grant fund interest covering any remaining balance.