Beginning Wednesday, Mercer County commissioners will start advertising for bids to "supply general contracting work" for a fourth courtroom at the Mercer County Courthouse.

County Controller Tom Amundsen and commissioners Cloyd E. "Gene" Brenneman, Kenneth A. Seamans and Olivia M. Lazor actually reached an agreement in April 2002 to seek bids for the construction of the fourth courtroom, Amundsen said.

A month earlier -- a year after the county had reached an agreement with architectural firm The 4M Co. of Boardman, Ohio, to oversee the estimated $10 million renovation of the courthouse -- county officials began investigating the need for a fourth judge and courtroom.

The fourth courtroom was officially added to the initial multi-million dollar renovation project when state lawmakers created a fourth judgeship for the county in November 2002.

Mrs. Lazor noted the contract with 4M specified that no bidding was necessary on "renovation work." But because this "is a new space -- there never was a fourth courtroom -- it was agreed between the controller and county that we would bid that out. And that's what we're doing."

Mrs. Lazor said commissioners have some preliminary figures on the estimated cost of the fourth courtroom, but they preferred not to make them public prior to the contract being awarded.

Commissioners expect to open the bids at 10 a.m. Oct. 7.