For the first time in nearly a year, the members of the Cass County Vintage Courthouse Committee met with local citizens at the county annex in Cassopolis Wednesday to discuss the next steps in their efforts to restore the former county courthouse.

Around 25 people joined county commissioners and committee members Robert Ziliak, Bernie Williamson and Roseann Marchetti in the board chambers that morning, where they received an update about the status of the project and about its future direction. Following the meeting, the public was invited to tour the boarded-up structure, getting a chance to witness the aging interior of the building.

In the months since the committee last convened, the county has finished work on the first part of the restoration project — halting the deterioration of the century-plus old structure and containing the growth of dangerous “black mold” that was previously developing inside its walls. Construction on a new roof for the building, the last step in the first phase, is essentially complete at this point, Williamson said.

“We have a secure, weatherproof building that has a good roof, good foundation and all the bones are there,” Williamson said.

The work was finished under budget, falling below the $275,000 allocated toward stabilizing the building by the board of commissioners in March 2014.

The courthouse now in stable condition, county leaders are turning their attention toward gathering public input on what direction they should take in terms of using the space inside the three-story courthouse as well as the adjacent annex building, Williamson said.

Over the next several months, members of the courthouse committee will gather feedback from county residents in a series of five meetings, which will take place at 7 p.m. on the first Monday of the month. The dates and locations of these meetings are as follows:

• Dec. 7, Ontwa, Milton and Mason townships, at Ontwa Township Hall

• Jan. 4, Marcellus and Volinia townships and Village of Marcellus, venue TBA

• Feb. 1, Silver Creek, Wayne and Pokagon townships and City of Dowagiac, at Southwestern Michigan College.

• March 7, Howard, Jefferson and LaGrange townships and Village of Cassopolis, at Cass County Road Commission.

• April 4, Calvin, Porter, Newberg and Penn townships and Village of Vandalia, at Vandalia Village Hall.

“This isn’t going to fall directly on the county to go and dip into taxpayer funds to do this,” Williamson said. “Our effort is to make this the community’s project, and to have interested parties create and fulfill the vision for it — and we’ll need your input for that.”