Designers preview interior floor plans, one‑stop service model and security zones for new county center

Architects presented detailed preliminary floor plans for the proposed Center of Government at the Sept. 2 Downtown Facility Special Committee meeting, describing a first‑floor "one‑stop" for public transactions, shared collaboration nodes on each floor, three security levels and provisions for back‑of‑house operations.

Bernard Best of Holt Architects walked legislators through the floor‑by‑floor layout, saying the design uses a three‑tier access model: public access after passing security (green zones), employee key‑fob zones (blue zones), and fully restricted floors where elevators require an additional key swipe. "So the only way public goes up there is if they're escorted directly by an employee," Best said.

Nut graf: The interior plan is intended to combine public service efficiency with staff collaboration; it centralizes common services (shared copy/print areas, conference rooms, and a first‑floor transaction counter) while building in growth capacity. Legislators raised operational concerns—storage, conference scheduling, how the one‑stop will be staffed and managed, and secure staff bike parking.

One stop and operations: The design places a multi‑station transactional counter on the First Floor intended to resolve many common citizen requests without directing people to individual departments upstairs. Architects and county staff said many tasks can be cross‑trained and handled at that one stop, but they flagged outstanding operational questions: who will manage the one‑stop, whether a County Clerk representative will staff it, and whether additional staffing or training will be required. Norm a Jane (county administration) said departments were meeting individually with designers to work operations into the design.

Shared spaces and accessibility: Collaboration nodes—soft seating, small kiosks and kitchenette areas—are repeated on every floor to reduce corridors and encourage ad‑hoc interaction. Designers said perimeter offices will have glazed interior partitions to bring daylight into deeper work areas. The team also designed generous stairs flanked by sloped walkways for accessibility and indicated planning for a vestibule and security screening at the main entrance.

Storage, copy rooms and amenities: Designers proposed centralized copy/print/scanning spaces on each floor rather than separate departmental copy rooms; IT currently leases copiers. Several legislators asked about long‑term records storage; architects reported 8% future growth capacity is built into the plan and said the county is auditing storage needs and long‑term offsite storage options. The team also described two lactation rooms and said they were evaluating adding a third if necessary.

Bikes, showers and staff facilities: Bike parking prompted extended discussion. Some legislators preferred racks near the main entrance for visibility; others preferred them tucked back for circulation. Staff asked for secure, possibly fenced bike storage and cameras to reduce theft. The design includes showers and lockers on the Fourth Floor; the team said most recent county buildings include showers to support bike commuting.

Ending: Architects said department‑level programming meetings were continuing and that they will revise layouts based on further feedback. Committee members requested a spreadsheet showing current and projected staff counts and planned square footage per person to confirm capacity and operational impacts.