1-20-14 Large, Expensive Courthouse for Oconee County -Considerations
Does Oconee County need a new $ 25 Million Courthouse?
AVOC
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January 20, 2014 - By Wendell Dawson, AVOC, Inc
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Does Oconee County need a new $ 25 Million Courthouse?
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The Oconee County Courthouse has been on this site since Oconee County was created in 1875 and
before that was the courthouse site for Clarke County which included Oconee County.
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1.The present courthouse was extensively renovated with a ribbon cutting in November 1998;
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Longtime officials posed for this picture when the renovated courthouse was reopened and dedicated in November 1998.
L-R, Wendell Dawson, BOC Chair; Judge James Barrow, Clerk of Court, Sandra Glass, Probate Judge Reba Hammond, Sheriff Charles Holcomb, and jailer, Willie Mae Carson.
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2.The present courthouse includes a suite for a Superior Court Judge behind the courtrooms on the third floor;
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3.The Courthouse Renovation in the late nineties had considerable input from the Sheriff and Chief Judge Joseph Gaines;
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4.Many citizens do not want the courthouse moved from downtown Watkinsville, the County Seat;
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ISSUES RAISED:
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A.Security Concerns;
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- The renovation of the late 90’s left the Old Jail and cells for entrance and holding inmates transported to the courthouse;
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- The renovation of the late 90’s had a dedicated elevator in the rear of the courthouse for transport of inmates and secure passages were built around the courtrooms for movement of inmates to court;
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B.Parking and Access:
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-A more long-term solution for parking is a parking deck in the courthouse parking lot;
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-Acquire the adjacent 8-10 acres for sale on the south side of the existing complex;
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Booth-Marable Tracts Viewed from Old Jail
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-Water street or a new route should be upgraded to allow traffic to flow from Main St at the Traffic Light at Hardin Hill Road behind the complex to a revised intersection at Main St and GA 53;
-Build an Administration Building on the adjacent properties and move the non-court functions to the new Administration Building;
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-Pending construction, some administrative functions could be moved to the houses on the adjacent property to avoid the cost of financing and debt for the Courthouse;
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C. Downtown:
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-Courthouses were traditionally built at the center of town;
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-Courthouses that have moved have had a detrimental impact on local businesses and the downtown areas, see Walton-Monroe and Jackson –Jefferson;
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-Courthouses remain in the center of town in most area counties;
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-Courthouses have remained downtown in Athens-Clarke, Fulton County, DeKalb County, Newton County, Henry County, etc;
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-Downtown can allow walking to restaurants, etc during court breaks;
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D. PRIORITIES:
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-Does a new courthouse rank higher in importance than increased library space, improved roads, waterlines, sewer improvements;
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-New Structures have name plaques on the building and that is a perceived legacy of some elected officials;
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-What impact do large, new facilities have on future Property Taxes paid by local citizens for maintenance and operation needs;
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E.FUTURE PLANNING:
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-Often one hears that a new facility will provide for “next fifty years” but is that really what happens?
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a.The current jail was built less than twenty years after the one that was torn down; the 1980’a model had modal expansion (Pods) possibilities;
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“Old 19 Year Old Jail” Torn Down for New Jail
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b. The current leaders seem interested in replacing a courthouse that was extensively renovated and expanded in the late nineties, or less than 20 years ago;
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c. Do current officials presume to be smarter than past and future county officials – really something to think about!
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F. POLITICS:
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-Often times new facilities are driven by egos and politics;
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-Who benefits from sale of land for a courthouse- are there political connections?Where? Will it be more accessible to major traffic arteries? State law requires the courthouse to be located in the county seat, i.e. City of Watkinsville;
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-Do citizens really see public facilities as Memorials to current officials?
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E.TIMING OF SPLOST VOTE:
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-We started hearing about SPLOST 15 in the middle of 2013, a much longer period than earlier SPLOST referendum planning;
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-Do our ‘approaching retirement” leaders really desire a personal legacy by having a General Obligation bond be part of the vote to allow them to build the courthouse before leaving office?
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F. PLANNING:
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-How much behind the scenes planning and politics have preceded this perceived rush for a new Courthouse?
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-Do we want the same leaders planning the courthouse that located a $1-2 Million Farmington Fire Station on a single lane country road out of sight of taxpayers and hard to access?
Old Farmington Road Looking North –Fire Station on Left
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G. SPLOST PROJECTS:
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- Many county roads remain subpar for the population, and age in which we live: a number need long-range planning and improvement: i. e.; Colham Ferry Rd is narrow and substandard; Hog Mountain Rd from Butler’s Crossing to US 441 is narrow and substandard; Hodges Mill Rd was built for farm-rural traffic of the 50’s; and there are many others throughout the county;
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-It is hard to make mistakes on road and infrastructure improvements so they maylast longer than our “so-called 50 year projects”;
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-SPLOST was created by the Legislature in the 80’s to help local governments provide for infrastructure and capital project needs but seems to many to have become a SLUSH FUND for local officials with large egos and lack of vision;
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- Oconee County has considerable needs that rank higher in priority than a $ 25 Million Courthouse; i.e.Roads, Bridges, Water lines in areas needing more fire plugs and protection; expansion of sewer capacity;
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