Court approves interim remodels to reassign Justice Center offices and expand Lake Creek space

County facilities staff presented a plan to move several departments into vacated spaces and to conduct relatively limited interim remodels to make the Justice Center functional while longer-term justice complex planning proceeds. Senior Director of Facilities Dale Butler and County Manager Rebecca Clemens outlined moves including relocating county-attorney staff into the Bob Phillips Building, creating additional offices out of county-clerk space, turning the grand-jury room into a DA conference room, and adding a jury deliberation room by adding doors and small gates in the basement courtroom area.

The court also discussed using funds approved on May 19 to begin design and schematic work to reconfigure portions of the Lake Creek building for sheriff operations, a move that would provide needed space for criminal-investigations and evidence processing. Commissioners approved the interim plans for both the Justice Center and Lake Creek and directed staff to proceed with value-engineering and to return with implementation details; the motion carried 5-0.

Staff said the interim remodels are intended to buy four to six years of usable space for the DA and related justice operations and to preserve basement and other space for future needs while the county continues justice-complex planning.