Meetings Steering Committee(Folders 1-2)

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B. RECOMMENDATIONS 1. The courts should continue to occupy the courthouse, and non-court functions should be relocated to other facilities. 2. The courthouse should be remodeled in at least two phases to meet the needs of the courts. In Phase I, priority should be given to court security, security related space needs and to the creation of adequate space for jury assembly. Phase II and any later phases would add new courtrooms and related support space as needed. 3. In the latter years of the 20 year planning cycle, depending on growth in court activities and the number of district and circuit court judges allocated to Marion County, it may be necessary to build an addition on the courthouse. 4. The committee also recommends that a consultant be hired to evaluate the courthouse and develop a master plan for remodeling and possible additions. G COST FACTORS 1. The cost of this project is estimated at $3.1 million. The consultant's master plan may identify new costs not considered in previous estimates. D. OPTIONS CONSIDERED 1. The committee considered a proposal to construct a new Justice Center on the Senator block. This proposal was slightly more costly ($2.4 million in additional costs) than constructing a new Public Service Building, and the committee determined that the courthouse is not large enough to accommodate the 20 year space needs of all the non-court downtown county offices. Furthermore, (as is discussed in the section on Downtown Facilities) if, instead of constructing a new Public Service Building, the county were to acquire the Equitable Building, the savings would be closer to $10 to $12 million. The committee did not feel it was appropriate for the courts to move out of the courthouse and convert it to county office space. PAGE 24 ksj/cd/Facilities.Int 08/10/95