Michelle Washington
The Virginian-Pilot
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NORFOLK
Ten months after signing off on the project and spending $13 million to design it, some council members now want to put the brakes on a new courts facility.
They've asked City Manager Regina V.K. Williams to determine whether there is a cheaper way to build the complex and to bring the issue back to the council for discussion.
"I respect the need for a new courthouse," Councilwoman Theresa Whibley said. "But are we so far down the road that we can't build a smaller palace, one that's more efficient?"
Whibley was joined by council members Paul R. Riddick, Barclay C. Winn and W. Randy Wright in expressing concerns.
Chief Circuit Judge Everett A. Martin Jr. declined to comment, saying he wanted to talk to the mayor or the city manager first. Chief Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Judge Lauri Hogge and Chief General District Judge Bruce Wilcox said judges would agree to meet with council members.
Whibley's comments come as city leaders continue to struggle with ways to balance Norfolk's budgets. The council is scheduled to pass a budget on Tuesday for the 2009- 10 fiscal year, which begins July 1.
The economy, rising debt and a long list of needs, including deteriorating schools, are why Whibley and others have gotten cold feet. Estimates place the courthouse project at $108 million, and the cost will likely increase, Williams said.
Despite the price, Mayor Paul Fraim said his colleagues' concerns are coming too late.
"We've promised the judges we would do this project, and they've been very patient," he said. "We have committed $38 million to the project. Now is not the time to back off.
"Building a courthouse is not something anyone wants to do. But it's something we have to do."
The Circuit, General District and Juvenile and Domestic Relations courts facilities are half a century old, overcrowded and dangerous. Victims, witnesses, judges and defendants all mix in common areas.
Meanwhile, council members have been moved by pleas from school division employees about the condition of schools. Whibley said the city needs to identify a "dedicated source of funding" for school construction.
The city is limited in what it can borrow for new projects because hundreds of millions of dollars are going to light rail, a cruise ship terminal, two recreation centers, the renovation of Town Point Park, a library in Ocean View and a planned downtown library and downtown convention center.
The projects have increased the city's projected debt from $514 million four years ago to $861 million.
Council members said they want to know whether the new courthouse facility could be scaled back, especially if judges held hearings in the afternoon and evenings.
Judges Hogge and Wilcox said their dockets extend into the afternoon, and cases routinely are scheduled throughout the day. The judges questioned the practicality of night court: The city would have to pay for sheriff's deputies required for security and transportation, clerks, police and other
staff to extend the courts' hours.
Further, Hogge said, the juvenile court, like the schools, serves children and families. Night court would take a toll on them, she said.
City Manager Williams said that even if judges hold court sessions at varying hours, a smaller courthouse is not an option. Plans call for a 330,000-square-foot courthouse facility, about twice as big as the city's existing courts.
"It's going to be very obvious to the council when we do the presentation that we have not overbuilt this," she said. "The question will be, do you build a new courthouse or not?"
Much of the new space would provide corridors to separate judges, defendants and witnesses, Williams said.
Also, space would be set aside for two additional courtrooms, which, based on Norfolk's caseload, consultants said eventually will be needed. Those spaces would not be finished off until the courtrooms are needed.
Wilcox said the city could build a smaller courthouse.
"I suppose in the short term it would save money," he said. "But in the long run, it could cause more expense because it's not adequate."
Site work on the project's first phase, a seven -story complex to house the General District and Circuit courts on St. Paul's Boulevard, is scheduled to begin in the winter.
The new Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, which would not open until 2014, would be built on the site of the current General District Court. The Circuit Court building site would be freed up for private development.
Pilot writer Jen McCaffery contributed to this report.
Harry Minium, (757) 446-2371, harry.minium@pilotonline.com
Michelle Washington, (757) 446-2287, michelle.washington@pilotonline.com
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Hardly a Palace
I have several friends who are school teachers in Norfolk, and I have never heard one of them say that their jobs would be easier if the school buildings were improved. They do, however, say that their jobs would be easier, and the lives of their students greatly enriched, if the parents took an interest in their child’s education – or even just read to the child a few times a week. You cannot blame rampant crime in this city on a disinterested City Counsel or Mayor. A child’s best chance at success in life – and staying away from crime - begins with solid parenting. But until ALL parents step up, crime will continue to increase in this city and our courts will become more and more crowded.
The condition of the Circuit Court is a disgrace. Criminal defendants are led down the hallways of the Circuit Court in chains and jumpsuits past all who have business in the court that day - a humiliating and frightening experience. The elevators break down on a regular basis, sometimes with people stuck inside. Ceiling tiles fall down without warning. Jurors spend hours in stuffy, uncomfortable jury rooms. Spend a Friday morning in the Circuit Court and see if you still t
Gypsy
The School Board Building already houses the Juvenile Domestic Court.
The court buildings are woefully inadequate - prosecutors already do not get paid nearly what they are worth, especially considering the high student loans they have from law school - then they have to go to work in a decaying and dangerous environment where the accused are allowed to have far too close access to the prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, witnesses and victims. Those attorneys that chose to be prosecutors would make at minimum, twice what they make working in public service than they would in private practice.
Its a sacrifice that they shouldn't be punished even more for.
Maybe if...
we fixed the schools, we wouldn't need as much money/ space for Juvenile Court or other courts for that matter? Just wondering.... if anyone sees the connection?
If Only...
If our great city leaders, (I use those words VERY loosly), would have had Buddy Gadams and one of his 20-plus LLC's do all the work and planning for this project, maybe their attitudes would have been different. After all, they approved that Granby Tower mess and every ludicrous idea he has bought before council.
Here's a thought: Save the money. You've wasted 13 million, just remodel Waterside into a court house. We can call it "Courtside".
Mayor Fraim
Don't let the Norfolk judges bully you mayor Fraim, You made promises to citizens of Norfolk that never happened. Just because you make approx. 70,000 a year and are struggling, dont let them judges that make over a over 100,000 a year punk you out.
For the children? Give me a
For the children? Give me a break. We've had a constant source of funds for our public schools ever since they were conceived. Take one honest, collective look at "the children" and you will see that funding public schools is not "for the children" at all. Whatever the reason, Norfolk knows it should not splurge taxpayer dollars on this new building while everyone else tightens the belt. What are the odds the city will do so anyway? Pretty good, I'm guessing. On the minds of our city officials, taxpayer money is limitless in supply, and is collected to do their bidding.
Think outside the 330,000 square foot box, people!
...."The judges questioned the practicality of night court... Hogge said, the juvenile court...serves children and families. Night court would take a toll on them, she said..." Would take a toll on whom? The juvies, who already stay out on the streets until two or three in the morning? The parents? Don't they work for a living in the daytime? Seems to me that particular comment, caring about the "toll" on the kids and their families, is more self-serving than altruistic. Judges, staff and lawyers are inconvenienced by night court...period. As far as the new facility itself, these boneheads are still thinking like they did fifty years ago. They don't need that much space, if they're open to change. In this computer age, most of the initial work can be done on two-way monitors, hooked to computers and cameras, from jail to courtroom. You don't need the perp physically present at all times. That's just archaic, and has to end. Most of the yellow pad-loving lawyers I know had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the world of computers. No wonder they don't embrace change.
New Courthouse
The City is spending in excess of eleven million dollars to upgrade Town Point Park. I do not quibble with that expenditure since it is a valuable asset to the citizens of Norfolk and Hampton Roads at large. On balance, a new courthouse is certainly no less important. The City was much smaller when the current courthouse was constructed. The present complex is in disrepair, outdated and too small to perform the functions for which it was designed. If the City can spend eleven million dpllars to upgrade a park, then certainly spending thirty-eight million dollars to build a new courthouse complex should not be unreasonable, especially when you consider their relative importance.
HPB
Rethinking the Courthouse
The School Board Building could be used to house the Juvenile Domestic Court. Then maybe you could arrange it so that traffic court is all grouped together. Since you bring the prisoners from the jail over to the courthouse maybe you could have those courtrooms on the upper floors and have an elevator that goes right to a holding sell on that floor and keep them away from any contact with the judges or the public. Give the judges the top floors for their chambers. It is doable and would cost a lot less money. You would be hero's
Rethinking the Courthouse
Dr. Whibley I appluad you for finally stepping up to the plate. There has always been options to building the new courthouse, and in this encomony we must really take a good hard look at them. Moving the Shool Board out of downtown to one of the closed schools is the best one. After all these buildings are good enought for our childern.