It’s been nearly 100 years since Douglas County commissioners first moved into their limestone courthouse at 11th and Massachusetts streets.

The latest crew isn’t about to let it crumble.

“It’s a magnificent building — so beautiful and so symbolic,” said Charles Jones, commission chairman. “It’s a treasure that we have to preserve.”

Commissioners agreed Wednesday night to find a consultant to draw up a preservation plan for the courthouse, which opened in 1905 at 1100 Mass.

Craig Weinaug, county administrator, said that hiring the right masonry expert could cost the county $10,000 to $15,000. The money would pay for a detailed plan that would recommend repairs and replacements that could end up costing the county more than $100,000 — everything from restoring detailed limestone carvings to shoring up the building’s foundation.

“They’re things we need to be doing to make sure that the courthouse is around for another 100 years,” Weinaug said.

Commissioners already have gotten a head start on such work, involving both preservation and protection.

Last year, the county spent $60,000 cleaning the building’s stone exterior and painting the frames of its windows. In 2002, the county installed a $159,000 fire-sprinkler system and spent thousands more to overhaul offices and put up new drapes.

Despite its age, the courthouse remains the hub of county government, with offices for the county treasurer, clerk, register of deeds, administrator and appraiser. Commissioners conduct their twice-weekly meetings in an old courtroom, surrounded by portraits of long-ago judges.

6News video: Douglas County Courthouse will be preserved Courthouse renovation will include replacement finials (10-3-03) Century-old County Courthouse limestone to undergo cleaning (9-15-03)

They say the county can’t afford to let such a historic landmark deteriorate.

“We’ll spend six figures, but it would cost millions and millions of dollars to re-create it — if we could, which we can’t — so we ought to protect it,” Jones said. “It’s worth it.”

Commissioners say they hope to have a plan in place later this year.