FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — More than four months after historic flooding ripped through large parts of Kentucky’s Capitol City, court was back in session inside the Franklin County Courthouse on Tuesday, which sustained millions of dollars in damage.
“We were told late fall this year, I heard it’s going to be over a year. We had no idea what we were in for,” Circuit Court Clerk Kem Marshall said.
Marshall’s offices on the ground floor were flooded due to around four feet of water sweeping through. She was there as the water was rushing in, helping to move decades old files to higher ground. Most of those were preserved after being sent out of state for remediation. The Administrative Office of the Courts served as one of several temporary homes for court personnel.
“It feels great. So excited to be back,” she said as the lobby once again started to bustle with employees and residents coming to take care of official business.
Marshall’s office downstairs remains closed as construction work continues in all areas of that level. The services her office provides can be found on the second floor for the time being.
“It was difficult, in the sense that the public didn’t know where to go, so it was a little tricky to get to court,” Marshall said.
But as Marshall explained that she knows it was all a minor inconvenience compared to what so many others across the city continue to deal with.
“A lot of homes in Franklin County were destroyed, and a lot of citizens still aren't in their homes and may never go back, so my heart does go out to them,” Marshall said, before thanking the AOC and the other partners the court had in helping them get through this difficult time.
