Hamilton County OKs three-year lease for prosecutor’s child support office in Noblesville

The Hamilton County Board of Commissioners voted to accept a three‑year lease for space the prosecutor’s office plans to use for its child support division at 350 Westfield Road in Noblesville.

The lease carries an annual base rent of $75,463.68. Chief Deputy Prosecutor Josh Coker told the board the office budgeted for additional deputy prosecutors and preferred renting the offsite space rather than renovating an old work‑release building, which had an estimated improvement cost of $150,000 that would not be reimbursable.

“The original plan … was to put them in what is the old work release building,” Coker said. “That bill was a hundred and $50,000. … If we rent the space, the space that's used by our child support division can be reimbursed at 66 percent from the federal government.” He said the office expects to locate roughly 12 people in the rented space, of whom nine would be child‑support staff; two juvenile attorneys and a juvenile support staffer would also be based there. Coker said the county will cover non‑rent items such as Internet and phone setup if needed.

Coker said the costs to the county will be reduced because the federal reimbursement for child support operations will cover most of the rent. He also said the office has already received county council approval to take funds from the prosecutor’s forfeiture account to pay the rent.

There were no public comments on the lease. A motion to accept the lease as proposed passed on a voice vote.

The prosecutor’s office said its long‑term objective remains relocating staff back into expanded space at the judicial center when that project is finished.