Okaloosa County BOCC — March 18, 2014 — Minutes — reading text

Minute Book 70, Page 229 Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners Mr. Harris said he appreciates Mr. Amunds comments but he takes an opposite opinion. He stated the Crestview Courthouse is woefully out of date. Continuing, he said money is continually thrown at Shalimar but this facility gets left out. Mr. Harris advised that he is not supportive of putting a band-aid on a hemorrhaging wound but wants to build a facility for the next thirty to fifty years. He said he cannot throw a couple of dollars at North County and build a new facility in South County. Mr. Harris stated he supports Option #3. Mr. Windes requested Mr. Turner continue with his presentation. Mr. Turner stated the Crestview Courthouse was built in 1953 and the end towers were added in 1962-63, Upon inquiry by Mr. Boyles, Mr. Turner stated the Shalimar Annex was constructed in 1974. Mr. Boyles interjected the Crestview Courthouse was built during segregation and before air conditioning. Mr. Harris added the population at the time of construction was under 50,000 with most of the citizens living in North County; thus, the reason for it being the County Seat. Mr. Turner stated the Courthouse was built before the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the elevator in the facility is not ADA compliant. Another issue is improper inmate holding facilities. Mr. Harris pointed out that during court some of the people on trial are sitting with witnesses. At this point, Mr. Parisot asked to see the design concept drawings. Several topics of discussion continued throughout Mr. Turner’s presentation of the drawings. These included additional parking, security, and fitting a function to a space rather than moving walls. Option #1 would provide additional space as follows: ground floor (basement) - 610 square feet; first floor - 5770 square feet; second floor - 6270 square feet for a total area of 12,650. 50% of the existing facility would be renovated with the most dramatic changes occurring on the court floor (second floor). The only work in the basement would be providing an ADA connection/elevator. The entrance would be on Main Street. Upon inguiry by Mr. Parisot, Mr. Turner estimated this option at S5 Million to $8 Million. He said the remainder of the asbestos in the building must be remediated and a fire sprinkler system may be required. Mr. Turner stated they plan to make the spaces in the building operationally functional. He said the building February 4, 2014 -12- Minute Book 70, Page 230 Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners should be arranged for operations that serve the public. Mr. Turner noted the ideal solution is to tear down the building and start again but the cost for that option would be $30 Million to S40 Million. Mr. Harris stated demolishing the Courthouse is not an option. He said when the subject was first discussed, the plan was to spend $10 Million on the Courthouse and $10 Million on the Shalimar Annex but now the plan is to tear down the Shalimar Annex and build a new facility. Mr. Harris also pointed out a new annex extension was built in Fort Walton Beach on Lewis Turner Boulevard at a cost of $30 Million. Mr. Amunds stated the purpose of tearing down the Shalimar Annex is to save on rents. The money going to lease rentals would be used to fund the new building. He said it seems to him the cart is being put ahead of the horse. Mr. Amunds used an analogy of needing a new car, saying the money you have will determine if you can buy a Chevrolet (or Ford) or a Cadillac. He stated the Gollar amount should first be determined then work the space into it. Mr. Harris agreed the original plan for the Shalimar Annex was to mitigate rents but then we wound up with a $30 Million building in Fort Walton Beach. He stressed the county must build for tomorrow. Mr. Parisot agreed with Mr. Amunds’ response on using lease payments as the funding source for the Shalimar project. He continued by addressing the topic of the OCWS becoming a commercial renter when county offices are moved out of the Water & Sewer Administration Building, extended financing for the Courthouse renovation, and his opinion the county could not handle $25 Million in indebtedness for these projects. Mr. Parisot said the ideas have mushroomed and a cap should be set. He felt the county should get rid of the fancy stuff and stick to form, fit and function. Mr. Boyles stated there are two approaches: find out how much you can afford and then build or build what you need regardless of the cost. He said no substantial amount of money is being spent right now and we are working forward. Mr. Boyles stated that by selecting a preferred design option, we can begin to develop the cost estimates. He did not see that it would be possible to get there in one vote or in one meeting, saying we will make little decisions to shape it. Continuing, Mr. Boyles February 4, 2014 -13- Minute Book 70, Page 231 Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners stated that he believes we are where we need to be and the Board has done the same thing in Shalimar. He urged the commissioners to let this process go forward. Mr. Windes agreed with Mr. Boyles and said we cannot wait three or four months before making a decision. He said the cost of Option #1 is $5 Million to $8 Million and he is not sure that option meets the goal. Mr. Turner pointed out that Option #1 will not separate inmates from the public, explaining the inmates will have to walk through public space to get to Courtroom A. He added Option #1 adds only one courtroom and provides for today’s needs. Mr. Harris stated Option #1 hinders ADA and could put the county back into the same situation as the lawsuit which was filed because the Shalimar Annex was not ADA compliant. Mr. Turner also pointed out a lawsuit was filed regarding safety issues at the Shalimar Annex. Mr. Boyles pointed out he has been the Board’s liaison to the Crestview Courthouse Task Force and he gathered from. the stakeholders that if Option #1 is the only one considered, they prefer to do nothing. They did not consider Option #1 to be a wise expenditure of funds and voted this option as being unsuitable. Mr. Boyles stated the Task Force voted for Option #3. Mr. Boyles made motion, seconded by Mr. Harris, to take Option #1 off the table. Mr. Amunds stated he is not saying Option #1 will or will not work but his thing is the dollar amount. He stressed he does not support spending $12 Million to $20 Million. Mr. Parisot stated a RFQ was expedited and only two bids were received. He asked what is taking so long. Mr. Boyles replied that he is a member of the selection committee and feels it is working very well. He pointed out hiring Mr. Phillips to provide architectural technical assistance has been cost effective. Mr. Parisot suggested cancelling the RFQ. Mr. Boyles replied the RFQ is for a construction contractor. Mr. Boyles again asked for the process to be allowed to move forward. 5 yeas. Mr. Turner stated Option #2 is the “middle size” option, adding 15,825 square feet of new space. He said inmate holding facilities would be more centralized in the building and there would be a new public elevator from first floor to basement. Upon inquiry by Mr. Amunds, Mr. Turner stated the cost of this option is in the range of $7 Million to $10 Million. He said February 4, 2014 -14- Minute Book 70, Page 232 Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners there would be extensive renovation on the court floor but there would not be any elbow room. It would provide a third courtroom but that only meets today’s needs. Mr. Turner reported the workload in Okaloosa County is higher than any other in the First Judicial Circuit. He said the district has been approved for two new judges but the funding for them has not yet been allocated. Upon inquiry by Mr. Parisot, Mr. Phillips stated there are six courtrooms in Fort Walton Beach. Mr. Parisot said he believes it is a scheduling issue. Mr. Boyles responded that scheduling meetings for the Board is quite different than scheduling for court cases. He explained many times an issue is not settled until it is set for trial. Mr. Boyles stated you don’t want to double book court cases like the airlines double book flights. He emphasized that we are not experts on judicial matters and it is not our job to tell the judges how to schedule trials. Mr. Boyles felt Option #3 is much closer to what we will need for the next few decades. Mr. Turner stated Option #3 will add approximately 24,200 square feet of new space. It has jury deliberation rooms and judges’ chambers on the second floor. This plan completely and entirely separates the inmates from the public. It also provides for a new third floor which would contain two additional courtrooms. Mr. Harris spoke about growth in North County. He stated there is 67,000 square feet of space at the Annex and asked Mr. Turner how much space is at the new facility on Lewis Turner Boulevard, to which Mr. Turner replied 84,000 square feet. Upon further inguiry by Mr. Harris, Mr. Phillips answered there are 44,000 square feet of space in the Crestview Courthouse. Mr. Harris said there iS no parity. He stated with the additional courtrooms in Crestview, there could be significant savings realized by not transporting inmates from the County Jail in Crestview to court in Fort Walton Beach. Mr. Turner advised the projected costs for Option #3 is $8 Million to $12 Million. Mr. Windes asked if there are architects who specialize in designing courthouses that we could call on to help answer questions. Mr. Turner replied in the affirmative and noted the design team for the new judicial facility brought one in and he still has those working papers. He stated they could provide some value engineering. Mr. Turner also said they learned some valuable lessons during the construction of the new judicial facility on Lewis Turner Boulevard. Upon inguiry by Mr. Windes, February 4, 2014 -15- Minute Book 70, Page 233 Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners Mr. Turner said a portion of the additional floor in Option #3 could be shelled out and the fourth courtroom could be developed when we get another judge. Mr. Amunds stated it would be helpful for him to know the tweeked costs for Option #2 and Option #3. He said if, for example, Option #2 was $6 Million and Option #3 turned out to be $7 Million, it would be easier to make a decision. Mr. Amunds asked if those numbers could be provided before a vote. Mr. Harris stated if there is any delay it is because of the Board. He said we beat this thing to death each time it comes up. Mr. Harris made motion, seconded by Mr. Boyles, to accept Option #3 in theory. Mr. Windes concurred this is conceptual. 3 yeas 2 nays (Mr. Amunds and Mr. Parisot voted no). FACILITIES MAINTENANCE - SHALIMAR ANNEX PROJECT, DIRECTION REQUESTED ON ELEVATION AND DESIGN CONCEPT Mr. Turner stated two possible layout options are being presented. One is a single-floor with three-story attached tower and identified as Scheme A-1+3. The second is a two-story facility and identified as Scheme B-2+2. Mr. Turner pointed out Scheme A is cheaper to build. Upon inguiry by Mr. Parisot, Mr. Turner said he does not know the price tag for Scheme A. Mr. Parisot stated this new facility is basically an office building. Mr. Pat Balish, DAG Architects, provided the elevation drawings and details of both options. The explanation included the projected locations of the various entities. The exterior of the building would be brick veneer. Scheme A would provide 63,042 square feet of space. Scheme B would provide 65,389 square feet of space. Mr. Steve Christopher of Lord & Son Construction joined in the discussion on the two options. Upon inquiry by Mr. Parisot, Mr. Christopher estimated the cost of Scheme A at $12 Million. Mr. Harris made motion, seconded by Mr. Boyles, to provide conceptual approval to Scheme A-1+3. 4 yeas, 1 nay