Johnson County gets updated plans for courthouse annex

IOWA CITY - As they prepare for a possible November vote, Johnson County officials on Wednesday zeroed in on plans for a new building to alleviate space and safety concerns at the county courthouse.

The Board of Supervisors held a work session on a $30.8 million, 72,000-square-foot courthouse annex, which would be built immediately south of the existing courthouse.

The cost estimate and floor plans for the building were the latest updates, and the board expects to meet May 7 get more details on the project and proposed ballot language.

The supervisors have said they are interested in getting voter approval in November to fund the project, although they have not officially set the election date.

'In theory, we're getting close to saying it's a go,” Supervisor Janelle Rettig said.

The county has spent a decade and a half trying to address jail and, later, courthouse needs. A vote on a bond issue to pay for a new jail failed in 2000, as did funding plans for a justice center, with a new jail and court space, in 2012 and 2013.

Earlier this year, the county supervisors expressed interest in separating the jail and courthouse projects and putting them both on the ballot to let voters decide.

With opposition to the jail strong - it is widely considered to have been the biggest factor in the justice center electoral defeats - the county has ditched the jail annex.

On Wednesday, the supervisors also received an update on $3.5 million in what were characterized as 'required jail upgrades.” They include security improvements, a new roof, plumbing repairs and a new generator at facility that is overcrowded and, officials say, unsafe. Work could begin this year.

On the courthouse, Neumann Monson Architects and Venture Architects presented conceptual cost estimates and floor plans for a three-level courthouse annex.

It includes six new courtrooms, technology to present and view trial evidence, a connection to the courthouse and four conference rooms.

In December, the county received a preliminary estimate of $25.5 million for the annex and the following month approved a motion saying the cost should not exceed that amount.

The estimate is now up to $30.8 million. The higher price is due to a larger building that includes the conference rooms and more pubic space and storage, the inclusion of the connection between the two buildings and increases in the cost per square foot and soft costs, said Kim McDonald of Neumann Monson.

County Attorney Janet Lyness said the conference rooms were an important addition. There is no private space for attorneys to meet with clients now, she said.

The cost estimates and the building's design likely will be watched closely by the public.

Some opponents of the justice center objected to the look of the building next to the courthouse, which opened in 1901 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Alluding to that, Supervisor Rod Sullivan said he didn't want conceptual drawings done of the courthouse annex, saying, somewhat sarcastically, the 'aestheticists” of Johnson County would criticize the color.

The concept right now is for the annex to be about 60 feet from the courthouse and, although three floors, appear like a one-story building on the hilly block, said John Cain of Venture Architects.

'I don't think you want it (the annex) to visually compete with it (the courthouse),” he said.