Alamance commissioners endorse temporary courtroom use, weigh $27M–$37M long‑term options

County staff presented a multi-pronged plan on Aug. 5 to address growing court caseloads in Alamance County, urging commissioners to approve short-term changes while pursuing longer-term construction or renovation options.

"We started this five years ago," the presentation said, recounting a 2019 facility plan that identified a need for two to four additional courtrooms and roughly 15,000–25,000 square feet of court space. Staff told the board that an expedited option — converting a jury room in the J.B. Allen building into a small‑claims courtroom — could be ready by Jan. 1 for an estimated cost of about $50,000.

Staff framed that short-term work as a stopgap to handle a January deadline when a fifth district court judge will begin. "We could have that done by January 1 and the cost of that improvement would be around $50,000," staff said during the briefing.

Commissioners debated alternatives for the longer term: (1) dedicate the County Office Building Annex to the courts and find space elsewhere for county staff, (2) renovate the first floor of the civil courthouse to make it court‑ready, or (3) build a new courthouse addition on the west side of the current courthouse. Staff presented conceptual price ranges: a two‑story addition at about $28 million and a finished three‑story option around $37 million. Board discussion noted that those figures are conceptual and would require additional design decisions.

Public safety and juror protection were central to discussion. The sheriff told commissioners the courthouse already has security measures and that one deputy could be reallocated for a small, in‑building courtroom: "We already have security downstairs. One of them can step up," the sheriff said. Other presenters warned that moving jury assembly functions across the street could expose jurors to contact with defendants, families and the public during breaks.

Faced with tradeoffs between speed, cost and juror safety, the board approved a motion to allow small‑claims court to use the commissioners' meeting room one day a week (Thursday) from now through Jan. 1. The motion specified Thursday as the day for the temporary schedule and passed on a voice vote.

At the same meeting, commissioners also voted to table more detailed short‑term renovation decisions to the next meeting to assemble additional data and space‑planning options. Staff said the long-term programmatic solution would require several million dollars and additional design work; they estimated the $37 million conceptual option would reduce but not eliminate future space needs.

Next steps: staff will return with more detailed cost estimates and site‑specific options at the board's next scheduled meeting, and the temporary small‑claims schedule will be implemented pending operational coordination with court staff and the sheriff's office.