Floyd County Council delays decision on judicial center

Feb. 17—FLOYD COUNTY — The Floyd County Council is delaying its decision on whether to commit to the judicial center project as county officials fail to reach a consensus.

The council voted 4-3 Friday to table a resolution that would have allowed the county to progress with plans to refurbish and transform the City-County Building in downtown New Albany.

The vote took place during a joint meeting with the Floyd County Commissioners. The action stipulates that the tabling of the action will not exceed 60 days.

Floyd County Council members Danny Short, Dale Bagshaw, Jim Freiberger and Connie Moon voted to table the resolution, while members Denise Konkle, Brad Striegel and Tony Toran voted against tabling the action.

In December, the Floyd County Commissioners approved the New Albany-Floyd County Building Authority's preliminary plans for the building projects. This plan includes the conversion of the City-County Building into a judicial center and the building of a new administrative building at the North Annex on Grant Line Road.

The majority of the council has not expressed support for moving forward with the Grant Line Road project, and Friday's discussion focused primarily on the judicial center.

Although council members agree that something needs to be done to refurbish the City-County Building, they have differing opinions on how to proceed.

On Friday, council members questioned the financing of the project, the details of the building project and the plans for relocating staff during renovations.

Bagshaw made the motion to table the resolution, saying there are "so many questions still that are unanswered," and he wants to make sure the public understands the costs that will add up with the building project.

"I recognize that we have to do something with that building, and I'm prepared to do what we have to do," he said. "But there are a lot of questions that I think that [have] not been answered."

Last August, the county entered an agreement with a development team led by Garmong Construction Service to plan the judicial center project, but the team has not yet received a commitment from the county to begin the scoping period to provide the exact costs and final designs for the project.

The plans call for the use of a public-private partnership to finance and build the judicial center. The cost projected in the preliminary plan is about $30 million to build the judicial center, which could rise to $35 or $36 million with the cost of bond issuance, and a tax increase might be required to cover the financing costs.

Several council members noted that they are coming up with a list of questions to ask the development team before considering the resolution again.

Tim Kamer, president of the Floyd County Commissioners, said he does not want to "hold up" progress on the judicial center project.

Scott Stewart, a member of the New Albany-Floyd County Building Authority, said the development team has not "drilled down to the specifics" since the county council has not committed to the process.

"You can't get to the discussion that everyone's claiming that they haven't had until you show commitment that you're serious about this."

Short said he would like to keep county government operations downtown, and he suggested building onto the east side of the City-County Building to create six new courtrooms and moving the judges into the addition before renovating the existing building.

He suggested a financing plan he said could avoid raising taxes and allow the county to fund a $45-$48 million project over a 30-year bond. This proposal calls for using the Floyd County Legacy Foundation and making the project into a design-build-operate model.

Short suggested that this would be a $45-$48 million project over a 30-year bond.

For Freiberger, the plans for the project seem "muddy as heck," and he noted that constituents he has spoken to have concerns about the projected $36 million cost.

"I'm not saying that we don't do anything — I know we need some major renovations and overhauls, but I need to know a lot more information before I vote yes on anything like this. We're not there, in my book."

Floyd County Commissioner John Schellenberger supports the judicial center project as approved by the commissioners in December. He said he is concerned that the county is "losing credibility" with the development team.

Short said he does "not care one bit about losing credibility with developers, and he is concerned about a lack of concrete cost and design in the ongoing planning process.

"I don't want to lose credibility with taxpayers," he said. "That is my focus. If we can do this without raising taxes, which I believe we can or we can get real, real close, that's the path that I want to go down."

Striegel said the resolution would be the "next right step to continue moving forward with the project."

"And it needs to be signaled to the taxpayer that this is an entry-level dollar figure to continue moving forward, and we still need to have discussions that we're probably not going to have today on what the liability is to the taxpayer," he said. "We're just signaling that you continue to move forward."

Konkle, the council president, also believes the county should move forward with the judicial center project, and she worries that the development team is "getting very antsy with us" as the county delays its decision.

Floyd County Commissioner Al Knable noted that there has been a discussion of adding one or two floors to the Frank C. Denzinger Criminal Justice Building to expand space for judicial functions. He also mentioned the possibility of building beyond Hauss Square.

Konkle said "it's still a possibility" that the county could use space at the Lee H. Hamilton Federal Building, located across from the City County-Building, in the future for judicial operations.

"Why wouldn't we leave that option open to us?" she said. "Let's move forward [with renovations] where we're at and let's look at the options for what phase two needs to look like."

Moon said she is concerned that there are no "concrete solutions" on the matter, and one of her main concerns is how to address the relocation of employees in the interim.

One of the concerns is where to place the county's administrative and judicial functions during the renovations of the City-County Building. Moon would like to see an addition with courtrooms built before the main renovations begin at the City-County Building.

"I believe in the long run, we're going to be out more money if we don't figure out where we're going to put those other people first," she said. "Strategically, it makes sense to build the courtrooms and then move them in there."

Kamer sees leasing space as one of the options for the administrative side, and it is unclear what that cost will be. The moving of courts and judicial offices is also uncertain.

One of the options under consideration is the use of Pine View Government Center for courts and judicial functions, which would depend on whether the City of New Albany opts to voluntarily annex the property.

Floyd Superior Court Judge Carrie Stiller voiced her concerns about the proposed plan, saying the discussion about moving the courtrooms gives her a "stomachache." She has safety concerns about the potential relocation.

"I have bulletproof windows in my court, and I run the major felony court," she said. "It has not been discussed with the sheriff how we are going to keep this community secure when you are transporting people — I don't even know where, because it's never been discussed. It is a major problem."

She said her court cannot operate in Pine View due to Open Door Youth Services operating in the same building.

Floyd County Sheriff Steve Bush also has security concerns about moving courts, and he believes the sheriff's department needs to be part of the process as the county pursues the building project.

Floyd County Auditor Diana Topping also has concerns about the uncertainty of plans for the administrative offices. She wants county officials to consider the "feasibility for all of the different ideas" and put a specific outline in place.

"As far as administrative offices, you're going to move us twice — all of our records twice and about all of our people twice — but you don't know where you're going to move us the first time, and you don't know where you're going to move us a second time," she said.

Schellenberger said the "judges have to be displaced one way or the other" whether the county begins with the renovation of the City-County Building or constructing an addition to the building.

Konkle said she believes the county will have time to find the right place to temporarily move the judges and the administration, and she wants to see the project "going and rolling."

"[There are] questions there, but we've made big strides, I feel, and I don't think we should stop and shut this thing down," she said. "I think we should keep it going."