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County staff recommends feasibility study and space‑utilization review for justice campus
Summary
Staff recommended a feasibility and space‑utilization study (estimated about $70,000) for a potential attorneys/defender building and campus reconfiguration; commissioners discussed costs, secure access and possible funding via land or debt service.
Speaker 1 presented a concept for a 'justice core complex' and recommended commissioning a feasibility and space‑utilization study to evaluate building on underused land at the county campus.
"If you wanted to do a feasibility study for a building on‑site, you're looking at about 70,000," Speaker 1 said, describing that figure as an initial estimate for a study covering attorneys, legal defenders and pretrial services. He offered a rough construction estimate of 20,000 square feet at about $500 per square foot, producing an illustrative $10 million figure and said, "Let's just round up for 20 for this building and the parking structure," acknowledging secure facility costs can be higher.
Commissioners raised logistical concerns: co‑locating prosecution and defense functions can require separate access points and strict secure circulation; unused conference and office space elsewhere on campus could be repurposed instead of immediately building new space. Speaker 5 and others supported a full campus space‑utilization analysis before committing to construction.
Financial framing: Speaker 1 noted campus debt service of about $2.2 million and suggested that proceeds from land transactions or leases could help cover debt service over a multi‑year horizon; commissioners agreed a careful feasibility study is a prudent next step before design or expenditures.
Next step: staff to scope a space‑utilization and feasibility study for the justice campus, return cost estimates and possible funding scenarios for the commission's review.
