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Lee County judges warn Justice Center construction could force major case shifts, mass mailings
Summary
Judge Mike Fellows and other court representatives told the Lee County Commission that planned work at the Justice Center risks denying access to upstairs courtrooms, potentially forcing case relocations and notifying thousands of residents by mail unless the county secures a timely fix.
Judge Mike Fellows told the Lee County Commission on a recent October meeting that ongoing construction at the Justice Center could leave the courts with drastically reduced courtroom capacity and significant logistical burdens.
"If we had to just move around cases by November 1, we'd be talking about more than 4,000 people we'd need to notify by mail by November 1," Fellows said, urging the commission to address a timeline and access problem that he said could leave the county with "one and a half" usable courtrooms.
Fellows described two principal problems: an uncertain construction timeline that may require shifting operations while work continues, and an HVAC design issue that has limited use of upstairs courtrooms. He told commissioners the shortage of usable courtrooms could strain operations across district and circuit dockets and asked the county to consider making the investment necessary to keep courtrooms operational during renovations.
County project staff member Blake, who said he was early in his assignment on the project, told the commission the situation had been a "moving target" and that he expected clearer information after an upcoming punch-list review and meeting. "Until that gets nailed down, I really didn't want to make any concessions that we ended up not being able to do," Blake said, and he promised to share concrete timelines once available.
Fellows and other court representatives asked that county staff give Mr. Beck and project leads authority to share information with the courts so judges could help develop workable interim plans rather than being told final solutions after the fact. Commissioners agreed to provide information when it was available and to work with court officials on potential mitigations.
The exchange left the commission with three near-term tasks: confirm a shared timeline after the contractor’s punch-list review, authorize appropriate information-sharing with court staff so judges can help evaluate solutions, and assess whether short-term investments could preserve courtroom capacity and avoid mass re-notification of litigants. No formal vote or funding decision on construction changes was made at the meeting.
The county has scheduled follow-up meetings to refine logistics and provide courts with clearer guidance on access and scheduling while construction continues.
