Let The Discussion Begin--The Courts, An Alternative

To date the courts and city spending seem to be the issues resonating with city residents. My thoughts on the courts are as follows—The bonds have been sold so we are committed to a courts project. 

The reality is the only court that has critical needs is the Circuit Court. Planning for court construction by the contract is not to start till next year so we have time and we are not committed to ...the current design or location for that matter. I would propose we downsize the project to fit the downtown by reducing the number of court rooms and review space needs looking at tech advancements, procedural changes, etc.

We should also look at the possibility of moving the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office there which has been left out of the courts discussion entirely. Move the Circuit and General District Court there. Both leave the JDR court in the Big Ugly and open discussions with our neighboring jurisdictions about a regional JDR court; or renovate the Renwick courthouse and move it there. This would free up both the Big Ugly and General District site for redevelopment to help generate the revenue to pay for this project.  

Future court expansion should be a regional discussion. A locality with a future population of 30,000+ thousand should not be expected to support a facility serving 600,000+ thousand. And the city has other community priorities it needs to address and the courts project, as currently planned, is negatively impacting those plans.

Look forward to getting some feedback on this. Let the COMMUNITY discussion begin!