The Humboldt County Board of Commissioners recently addressed growing concern about the county’s need for a change in Justice Court facilities at their special meeting, with Chairman Jim French absent, Commissioner Ron Cerri present via-web call, and the meeting led by Vicechairman Ken Tipton. The board had begun the extensive investigation of the costs and feasibility of courtroom renovations in years past, but the actions came to a halt as a result of the pandemic, according to City Manager Dave Mendiola.
“No matter what we do, we will have to take out a loan,” explained Mendiola, and added that the county has limited options because of the funds available for capital projects if the commissioners do not want to take on any debt.
Now, the board is trying to assess the entirely new realm of exigencies that social distancing and new laws demand of courtroom proceedings, as well as the surging prices of materials and labor. Sixth Judicial District Court Judge, Micheal Montero, explained that the Justice Court does not allow for jury trials to the fullscope that the law demands because the courtroom is just too small. The Nevada Supreme Court recently established that if individuals are convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence, it interferes with their right to bear arms, thus the defendants are now entitled to a trial by jury because of the severe implications that conviction carries. According to Judge Montero, the courtroom cannot currently accommodate the required 14 person jury—12 jurors and 2 alternates— on a long-term basis. He added that the legislature affects Justice Court, not District Court, but he is unable to sacrifice any more space in his courtroom to accommodate the necessary modifications to the Justice Courtroom.
Commissioner Jesse Hill’s motion to direct Mendiola and Comptroller, Gina Rackley, to look for alternative funding sources, passed unanimously.
The board discussed multiple options with representatives from Cushing-Terrell Architecture (CTA), out of Boise Idaho, including Option 1: renovating the second floor of the existing courthouse, Option 2: creating a permanent Justice Court out of modular units, and Option 3: designing an entirely new facility for District Court and Justice Court. The second floor renovations will cost approximately 8,687,899 dollars, the modular unit option will cost approximately 13,661,798 dollars and a new facility will cost approximately 15,531,603 dollars. Option 3 does not include the additional six million dollars that would cover necessary renovations to the current courtroom after the Justice Court is relocated, according to Angela Hansen, the Project Manager for Humboldt County from CTA.
Mike Sheppard, Humboldt County’s representative for these types of extraordinary building projects, addressed the commission and said that renovations to the current courtroom, such as Option 1, would put the county “already behind” and said “You’re already past short-term fixes,” leaving the board to potentially ponder the other two options, as well as the option to go back to the drawing books and explore alternative measures.
Hansen explained that the modular unit option would pose the greatest “sunk cost”, as the county would be unable to salvage expenditures from renovating the nine modular units that would be needed to accommodate the courtrooms.
The board expressed great concern about putting the country into debt, which Option 2 and 3 would require, as no member desired to borrow tens of millions of dollars for the project. All members resolved that the county simply does not have the funds readily available to begin any sort of major renovation like Option 2 or 3 requires.
Justice or the Peace, Jim Lovelace, and Judge Montero expressed that neither of them expect an entirely new facility and will work to the best of their abilities with the current situation.
“I don’t know that we couldn’t make due with what we have for short-term,” said Judge Montero, but added that “ We’ve already been through three fairly significant office renovations to accommodate the growth the county has already seen,” and expressed that action is eventually necessary.
Judge Montero said in a previous meeting with the board on April 4th that if Humboldt County does not amend the courtroom situation that “we are basically telling the world we are not following the law” in regards to the new legislation, possible social distancing requirements, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as the current courtroom does not give easy access to those with disabilities either (specifically those in wheelchairs).
Commissioner Cerri said that “I don’t think we are out of options,” and explained that he would like to explore different avenues to see what other options are feasible, as did the rest of the board.