Audio clip
Ben Brandon & Sarah Moore
TRENTON, Ga. — District Attorney Herbert “Buzz” Franklin said the courthouse here is so cramped he recently had to step over a child molestation victim on his way to the courtroom.
“I don’t think people really want to operate courts in that fashion, but that is what we’ve been doing for years now,” Mr. Franklin told the Dade County Commission.
Commissioners, though, are deadlocked over how much of a proposed 2009 special purpose local option sales tax to allocate for a new courts facility to solve the problem.
The tax, if approved by voters on July 15, would continue the 1 percent sales levy, and is projected to collect $18 million over the five-year life of the tax.
Some want to build a $5.4 million facility. Others say that is too much, but do not offer a figure that would be a more reasonable price tag.
The struggle to plan for the future — but not overspend — is not a new one, said Terry Reynolds, Arcadis architect for the project.
“Back in the ’20s (when the courthouse was built), coming out from under Reconstruction, no one knew the Depression was around the corner. I’m sure they had some of the same struggles with growing county needs,” he said. “The previous county commission also struggled with the same issue.”
background
At a special meeting last week, only Commissioner Sarah Moore — a former Dade County Superior Court clerk — made a motion to commit SPLOST funds for the courthouse.
She proposed for the tax referendum to earmark $3.8 million for the courts building, to be added to $1.6 million for the building in revenue from the SPLOST that went into effect in 2004.
But there was no second of her motion, and no progress made toward a solution for the cramped courthouse.
Commissioner Lamar Lowery and Chairman/Executive Ben Brandon were to meet Monday, but Mr. Brandon said he canceled the meeting because he was unexpectedly called to Atlanta.
The regular commission meeting is Thursday, but officials said the courthouse issue is not on the agenda.
Still, all say they are hoping for a timely resolution because the SPLOST capital projects list needs to be settled by April 1 to be ready for the July 15 referendum.
Mr. Lowery said there is always the possibility of moving the referendum to another special election date, such as the Nov. 4 general election, but that option has not been discussed at length. He said there has been discussion of not voting until after a new county executive/chairman takes over in January, which is when the 2004 SPLOST ends.
If voters reject the SPLOST, commissioners must wait at least a year before holding another referendum, and the 1 percent tax would lapse.
“It doesn’t sound good, but I don’t see a way around a tax increase,” Mr. Lowery said about the effect on property taxes if a SPLOST doesn’t pass.
Most residents agree a new courthouse is needed. However, some are upset because the initial plan made by commissioners in 2004 was to add on to the justice building where the commission meeting room and sheriff’s offices are. When new commissioners came in that year, they began rethinking that option.
“They felt like they were going to spend a lot of money, and they would still be overcrowded the day they opened,” Mr. Reynolds said.
The current commissioners now are struggling over how much room is needed, and are caught between court officials pleading for more room and citizens who say they don’t want to spend so much money for superfluous space. The plan at present calls for about 27,822 square feet.
the plea for space
District Attorney Franklin, Superior Court Clerk Kathy Page and Probate Judge Jan Ellison each pleaded for officials to approve the proposal presented by Mrs. Moore.
“I’m in this situation day in and day out, and I know what the needs are and what we lack over there,” Mr. Franklin said.
He said there is not enough room to handle the hundreds who come to the court for business or for jury duty, not enough bathrooms, no possibility of adding telephone lines and no place to talk on the phone privately.
Mrs. Page said the fire-proof vault for records is full, and overflow documents and records stored in the basement are getting water damage.
Mr. Franklin said those who are opposed to building a new courthouse are ill-informed.
He said county commissioners have been working with stake holders (those who work daily in the courthouse) for years planning the project. Then commissioners balk because some members of the public come out at the last minute and make suggestions that have already been ruled out, he said.
Opposition
Trenton resident Roy Fowler, though, said he is tired of being held hostage between the sales tax and property taxes.
Melenda Bryson — who has announced she will run against Commissioner Moore in the July primary— said she has looked at the court facility in Marion County, Tenn., which has a population comparable to Dade’s. She said Marion County gets by with less space, and Dade should also.
During last week’s heated meeting, some residents declared, “This isn’t Atlanta,” and others said the county doesn’t need a “Taj Mahal.”
Monda Wooten said the country is in a recession, and she doesn’t think now is a good time to build the large courthouse.
Architect Reynolds, however, said now may be a better time.
“A slowdown in construction should reduce the pressure of inflation,” he said.
Mr. Lowery said that in addition to the vocal opponents at last week’s meeting, some of his constituents have called to say they don’t want to pay for a large facility. He said commissioners must try to find a middle ground.
Mr. Lowery and Mr. Brandon will try to connect again to come to a compromise, although a date has not been set.
Mr. Lowery said he hopes voters do not reject the SPLOST, and said he hopes a compromise can be reached, in which the project would be done in two phases.
If built in two phases, officials could add enough room now to handle the current needs and expand the facility in coming years, he said.
“We have to build a courthouse. The only question is, do we need it as big as what they are trying to go for,” Mr. Lowery said.
BY THE NUMBERS
4,000: Dade County population when the courthouse was built in the 1920s
16,233: Dade County population in 2006
11,200: Square footage of the current courthouse
27,822: Square footage of proposed courts facility
