Meetings Steering Committee(Folders 1-2)

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. relations cases (which show, by far, the most dramatic predicted increase in volume over the next twenty years) and other non-criminal proceedings. Relative to the inevitable increase in other kinds of judicial proceedings, "double shifting" of the use of court facilities should not be an unreasonable expectation of our citizenry. I do have some concern about whether we can achieve optimal efficiencies in a remodeled Courthouse. The use of a consultant in planning this process is critical. As to County Health, though it stands apart from "law enforcement" it does seem to be our "best bang for the buck" category, and it would not take huge amounts of dollars to vastly improve conditions in this department, especially if the staging of construction can be coordinated with Juvenile's changes. Dog Control--politics with the Humane Society and the legislature (exotic pet control?). Perhaps a new name would be in order: "Marion County Animal Management." Whatever we call it, priority for any significant expenditure is still at the bottom of my list. Having said that, however, I also recognize that the words "significant expenditure" may not apply here since relative to everything else we have reviewed, this expense would be minimal. In addition to the above I subscribe to the premise that general county administrative functions (Downtown), though necessary and important, take a back seat to other areas we have discussed. Without having a consultant's studied perspective, I definitely favor the Equitable building option for meeting Downtown departmental needs. I also believe that someone (if not our group then the Commissioners/staf~ needs to do a series of "if then" scenarios in order to construct an accurate picture of the various options and the staging and timing necessary to implement any chosen scenario before any package is assembled for submission to the voters. As to the political realities for passing any measure that needs to go to the voters, it seems that that is the exclusive bailiwick of Commissioners, although I agree with Jack Munro that we need to address the fact that we are sensitive to the political realities and have not ignored them in compiling our final recommendations. Randy, I would also like to take a moment to thank you, Ken (the honorable chairman) and the Commissioners for the opportunity to participate in this process. Though there were frustrating moments for each of us individually and for the committee collectively, on balance I found this experience to be incredibly educational. And, frankly, I enjoyed fraternizing with the people on the committee. Everyone seemed to take their responsibility quite seriously, yet there was no lack of wit and good humor throughout the series , of meetings. Ken's leadership and style clearly made what might have otherwise been a merely tolerable experience, an enlightening and enjoyable one. (I'm not sure it's possible to top Busby, however!!) Best of luck. You do great work.