Fredericksburg Council Has Big Decisions Left On Courthouse

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Fredercisksburg City Council members are considering building a shell General District courtroom and judge's office and lowering the ceiling height two feet in the proposed courts project in downtown Fredericksburg to save money that might be used to renovate the historic Renwick Building. They discussed the project in a late-night worksession Tuesday after the council meeting.

The city has issued $36.7 million in bonds for a new courthouse facility that includes the following:

• Design new court facilities
• Renovate Executive Plaza first floor for temporary occupancy by the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court
• Demolish the existing structures at the corner of Princess Anne and Charlotte streets
• Construct the new courthouse at corner of Princess Anne and Charlotte streets
• Move the Circuit Court out of Renwick and the General District Court to the new courthouse
• Renovate the General District Courthouse and move the J&DR Court to the renovated former General District Courthouse

A majority of council members wants the . City Manager Beverly Cameron recommended turning Renwick into a Council Chamber (in the current Circuit courtroom on the second floor) and the first floor could be office space for the city manager’s office, city attorney’s office, mayor, and clerk of Council. This renovation could cost about $5 million and Cameron said that is net of historic tax credits. Council could also choose to keep the in Executive Plaza and save money on the renovation of the General District Courthouse at 615 Princess Anne St.

. The project is at a critical 35 percent design phase and City Council already agreed to keep the new courts facility at three floors at a June 19 work session. The plans include two new General District courtrooms and two new Circuit courtrooms. City Council is considering leaving one of the General District courtrooms as a shell to save money and Cameron said council members should make this decision at its July 24 worksession because there's a deadline of Aug. 1.

A decision Cameron said council members can make later is whether to conduct minor or major renovations to the existing General District Court building, which would vary in cost from $4.8 million to $2.78 million. This decision directly impacts Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court because it is planned to be located in the existing General District Court building. Cameron said a minor renovation may not provide all of the desired court security upgrades. A minor renovation would provide all of the critical updates to the electrical systems and the HVAC, while also generating surplus project funds that could be used for the Renwick Building. He recommended City Council discuss this at its Sept. 11 work session. .

What to do with Renwick?

Cameron said First Choice proposed a use for Renwick in its original public-private partnership submission that included the new City Council Chambers on the second floor where Circuit Court is held today and office space on the first floor. He recommended council members discuss this at an Oct. 9 work session and again at its goal-setting retreat later that month.

"This renovation would restore the building in a manner sensitive to the historic significance of this iconic structure," Cameron said. "Other options for the reuse of Renwick are potentially available. These may include sale or lease to a private party or to a non-profit organization with financial capacity to undertake a historically sensitive adaptive reuse. Exploring these options obviously pushes a decision well beyond November 2012."

Cameron said the city's Capital Improvement Plan includes this project in fiscal year 2015, which is the earliest it could start based on the timeline of the courthouse project. He said funding could come from funds leftover from the court bonds, city General Fund balance or the next general obligations bonds the city is scheduled to issue in fiscal year 2015.

Parking Problem

City Council will also have to deal with the downtown parking problem, especially when the new courthouse comes online. Cameron said council members can direct staff to identify potential land in the downtown area for a new parking deck. The city has a parking deck on Sophia Street behind Executive Plaza. Cameron said the locations should be prioritized and a strategy to purchase any property should be finished by fiscal year 2014. He recommended council members discuss this at their retreat on Oct. 19 and Oct. 20. City Council would have to amend its Capital Improvement Plan to include the land purchase and the parking deck and it is possible to include this project in the fiscal year 2015 bond issuance.

"In a related matter, the city should use its best efforts to encourage the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) to identify funding and construct a 1,200-space parking deck behind the old City gasworks on Frederick Street. This project is now in VDOT’s six-year plan," Cameron said.

Staffing Courthouse

Cameron said the staffing for the Fredericksburg Sheriff's Office once the new courthouse is completed will take considerable study and discussion. The new courthouse is expected to open no later than the spring of 2015 and it will require additional staffing for court security. The exact number of court security deputies is not known and will be based on caseloads, number of in-custody defendants, number of active courtrooms and judges' expectations. The National Center for State Court has indentified best practices for courthouse security, which are attached to this story in a PDF.

"The city manager and Sheriff Higgs will be working together to implement these guidelines in a manner that is fiscally prudent," Cameron said.