Starting Monday, Barton County District Court offices will begin a temporarily relocation from its third flood Courthouse site to 1709 Main St., the former Sears store, in Great Bend to allow for renovation of the HVAC system at the Barton County Courthouse, according to a Kansas Courts news release.
The 20th Judicial District court offices will remain open during the relocation. During relocation, court staff can be reached at 620-793-1856 during business hours to answer questions or provide direction.
Court users should enter through the north doors next to the parking lot. It is projected the court will be at this temporary location for nine months to a year.
“We apologize in advance for any inconvenience caused to the public because of the relocation,” said Chief Judge Steve Johnson, 20th Judicial District. “While it is possible some glitches will occur, we will try to make this as seamless as possible.”
The relocation will happen in two parts:
• Beginning Monday, most court hearings will be at the new location.
All other court business, including self-represented litigants’ filings and court payments will continue at the Barton County District Court Clerk’s Courthouse office, room 306, 1400 Main in Great Bend.
• The district court will be closed Monday, June 19, in observance of the Juneteenth holiday.
• On Tuesday, June 20, all Barton County District Court offices will provide service from the temporary location until the courthouse is ready to return to.
Attorneys of record can continue to electronically file documents using Kansas Courts eFiling. Public access to case information and online payment on the Kansas District Court Public Access Portal is unaffected.
Barton County is part of the 20th Judicial District. In addition to Barton County, the 20th Judicial District is composed of Ellsworth, Rice, Russell and Stafford counties.
On a related note, the Barton County Attorney’s Office, which had also been on the courthouse third floor, is already operating at 1520 Main, a move also necessitated by the HVAC project.