Times Observer photo by Josh Cotton Warren County Commissioner Tricia Durbin, left, speaks during Monday’s work session held at the Warren County Courthouse.

The Warren County Chamber of Business and Industry was hoping to secure funding commitments from the City of Warren and Warren County by Feb. 1 to fund the Warren Worx initiative.

That timeline appears unlikely to come to fruition.

The Warren County Commissioners are currently planning another meeting with the WCCBI, according to Warren County Commissioner Tricia Durbin.

Durbin said that meeting would include a “small core team of the group.”

The aim would be “talking a little bit about what the art of the possible is as far as structure,” she said, in addition to discussing details as part of a business plan.

The general idea behind Warren Worx is the need to develop a central facilitating entity for initiatives and projects in the county. Warren Worx’s first major assignment would be the development of a county brand that can be used by existing organizations to enhance outreach efforts.

The commissioners also discussed ongoing courthouse rehabilitation efforts during Monday’s work session.

Chief Clerk Pam Matve said the project – which includes, among other things, work to the historic part of the courthouse below the roofline – is slated to go out to bid next month.

“There’s a whole list of items and one of the things we kind of have to wait on (is to) see if we get the grant that we applied for,” she said.

The commissioners bid this project once previously and only received, according to Durbin, one bid in the area of $1.7 million.

Matve said they hope for more bidders getting the bid process on the street earlier in the year.

Director of Finance and Administration Lisa Hagberg said the county has not heard formally about the grant application but feedback on its likelihood of award “does not sound good.”

Matve said the project would need to be split into smaller pieces if the grant funding does not come through.

The original 1876 portion of the Warren County Courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.