The city of Warrenton has added co-counsel to defend itself in a lawsuit filed by the Warren County Commission in a dispute over construction permits related to the construction of the new county administration building. In another development, City attorney Chris Graville filed a motion to disqualify 12th Judicial Circuit Presiding Judge Keith Sutherland from hearing the case. The motion was granted Dec. 10. The Missouri Supreme Court will appoint a new judge to replace Sutherland. No court date has been scheduled. The city has hired the Kirkwood law firm of Vogel, Rost and Cunningham to assist Graville in the lawsuit. Daniel Vogel and Erin Seele, filed an entry of appearance on Monday. The county is being represented by Kent Munson, of The Stolar Partnership, the county’s regular law firm. The county is building a 36,670-square-foot, two-story building on 3 acres the commission purchased last year on South Highway 47 and Mockingbird Lane in Warrenton. The new facility will house all non-court related county offices. The overall project is estimated to cost $6.5 million. Though it is challenging whether it is subject to city permits, the county commission had paid a total of $27,406 to the city for separate building and stormwater permits. Of that, $26,781 is for the building permit alone. The payments were made under protest. The lawsuit, filed in Warren County Circuit Court on Oct. 20, was filed after the city posted a stop work order at the job site Oct. 15 and issued a summons to an employee of T.S. Banze Construction after he continued performing grading work that same day. The county commissioners said they told the contractor to continue working. The lawsuit contends that under state law the county is not required to obtain and pay for city building permits. The suit requests that the court decide the permit issue and require the city to return the money the county paid under the protest. It also seeks the withdrawal of all municipal ordinance citations issued in connection with the controversy as well as attorney fees and damages for the construction delay. Commissioners have previously stated that since excavation and grading was delayed over the dispute, the project is at least two weeks behind schedule since a contractor had to leave the job site and remobilize. The entire project is expected to take 16 to 18 months to complete. City officials dispute the county’s interpretation of the law and maintain the county is in violation of city building codes by not obtaining and paying for the construction permits. Commissioners Receive Construction Update Four of 70 wells needed for the geothermal system have been drilled and completed, according to Greg Drake, Septagon construction manager, told the county commission Tuesday. He said work began on the wells Dec. 1, but was delayed since the subcontractor, contracted by Heggemann Plumbing, encountered equipment problems. The update was provided Tuesday during the monthly status report on the administration building project. Drake said crews anticipate being able to drill two wells a day and should have that portion completed by the end of January or early February. He also noted that 204 yards of concrete has ben poured. He said all footings are complete, with the exception of 28 linear feet, five interior pier pads and exterior pier pads. The construction status meetings are scheduled to be held the second Tuesday of every month at 11 a.m.