Bradley County juvenile court seeks $25 fee increase to fund building repairs and expansion

Judge Morgan, the county juvenile court judge, told the Bradley County Commission during the meeting that the court has been awarded a federal "skip" grant routed through the state worth $450,000 over three years to support campus-court services and rapid referrals for assessments and counseling.

The judge said the grant has funded a staff hire (identified as “Gabby”) to work with campus court and that the court expects about $50,000 per year from the grant to cover counseling for youth and families. Morgan said one contract with Dr. Biller’s office remains unsigned and is awaiting the mayor’s signature before payments begin.

Morgan asked the commission to consider a $25 fee increase on civil and juvenile filings — not criminal — that would be earmarked for renovating and expanding the juvenile center. "That $25 would be earmarked for adding on to the juvenile center, making renovations," Morgan said, asking the commission to send the proposal to the finance committee so county attorneys can refine the resolution language.

Why it matters: Morgan said the court is out of office and courtroom space after recent hires tied to Recovery Court and the skip grant; clerks, attorneys and visitors frequently lack private meeting space and the lobby is routinely overcrowded. Morgan described on-courtroom days where people had to wait on steps or be relocated to a training room because of docket congestion or mobility limitations.

Facility needs and immediate repairs: Morgan said the budget request includes funds to hire designers to assess whether an addition is feasible; if an addition is not possible, the court would explore alternate locations. He said immediate needs include a failed HVAC unit (quoted at about $50,000) and plumbing repairs. "This 25 would cover that and pay for it," Morgan said, describing the fee as targeted to users of the civil and juvenile system rather than general property taxpayers.

Plumbing contractor Keith Collins, of Collins Plumbing, described structural problems in the sewer manholes originally built in the 1930s. Collins said brick bottoms and deteriorated channels cause frequent stoppages and that replacing clay pipe and rebuilding manhole bottoms will require substantial hand labor and localized excavation near parking and building areas. Collins presented a bid range that he said could be in the mid‑$20,000s to $30,000s depending on what is found; commissioners noted purchases over $25,000 would require formal bidding.

Janitorial and detention-food issues: Morgan said the court has not had regular janitorial service and has relied on community-service crews; his current budget request includes $7,500 for contracted cleaning. He also said the court requested funding to change the detention food provider from the jail to a hospital system that would provide meals at cost and better quality. Morgan cited state law that "detention is not a punishment" as part of the rationale for improving meal quality and said last year the facility had just under 1,100 total nights of detention (about 3,300 meals) and that more-conservative recent estimates put nightly detentions near 1,200 per year.

What the commission did: At the meeting’s start commissioners voted to approve the previous meeting’s minutes. Morgan requested a motion to send the $25-fee proposal to the finance committee and to allow county attorneys to draft resolution language; however, no formal motion to transmit the fee increase resolution to finance was recorded during the meeting, and no vote on the fee increase occurred.

Public comment: A public speaker who identified herself as someone who has addressed the commission in prior years urged commissioners to act, saying the building’s condition is a recurring operational problem and asking the commission to "stand up for us as our representatives" and help secure the needed improvements.

Next steps: Morgan said he and County Attorney Crystal Fryberg will work on resolution language if the commission instructs finance to consider the request; he asked for guidance or a motion so the court can move forward with design studies, immediate repairs and possible future expansion or relocation planning.