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Justice Center removed as voting site; county sets 15–16 month construction timeline for campus project
Summary
A county building committee concluded the Justice Center will not be used as a voting location for security reasons; county staff outlined a phased campus construction schedule with bids due in July and construction expected to start in August and finish roughly November 2026.
Washington County building committee members and staff announced that the Justice Center will no longer be used as a public voting site, and staff presented a phased schedule for a multi-phase campus construction project that is expected to take about 15–16 months.
Scott, a county staff member, told the committee that "Brad Stern, our county attorney, wrote an opinion that he did not believe that that would be an allowable use within the Justice Center" and that committee participants including judges and the clerk agreed it would be a security detriment. He said the clerk has been informed and the county will work with the city to find a suitable alternate voting location.
The construction project for the campus will proceed on a phased schedule, Scott said, with 90% design documents coming next week, a pre-bid meeting and site walk planned for June 11, bids due July 1, and an anticipated construction start in August. "We're looking to start construction in the fall," Scott said, and later described the overall schedule as "about a 15 to 16 months period, 3 phases about 5 months each, so about 15 again in 16 months, completed roughly November of 2026."
Scott said the county intends to keep the building open during construction with phased exterior work, a new parking lot timed to move the clerk and registration in January 2026, and mitigation for noise and access impacts. He urged residents and stakeholders to review the plans during the upcoming page-turn and bid-preparation meetings.
The building committee also held security-focused sessions with the sheriff and other stakeholders; Scott said those sessions produced minor changes to the 90% plans that will be reviewed at an upcoming page-turn meeting. He emphasized the county will add scrutiny now because "if it's in the bid pack, it's not easy to later on with a change order."
