Council explores addendum or MOU to keep city court arrangement; creating a superior court would be costly

Council members and staff discussed how to preserve city court services when the county’s current contract with the City of Knox expires next year. Creating a new, superior court would be expensive, participants said, so the council explored negotiating an extension or drafting a memorandum of understanding with the city.

Chair (Speaker 1) said the city and county should avoid leaving the city “holding the bag” and suggested either a contract extension or an MOU. Staff member (Speaker 5) told the council he could draft an addendum if both parties agreed and waived conflicts: “If both sides say, yeah… I can just draw up a simple, addendum that basically says this is the party’s understanding,” he said. Participants stressed that any extension or addendum should be processed in time to avoid forcing the city to take sudden action before the end of the year.

Speakers cited the very large cost of establishing a superior court — participants said the figure could reach into the millions — and suggested continued negotiations with the city and commissioners to reach a short‑term extension while they consider long‑term options. The council agreed to request that commissioners place the item on their next agenda for discussion.