Courthouse Verdict, Kind Of: Remember our reporting on Monday that plans for a new courthouse had hit a snag, and that officials would be examining some options? Now, it’s official, Benton County has announced a delay in the design phase.
On July 5, the Benton County Commissioners received an update on the project from Chief Financial Officer Rick Crager, who said the delay is due to the anticipated cost of the project. As we prior reported, however, it’s not just the costs, it’s new design requirements from the Oregon Judicial Department, which is significant because the state is funding $31.2 million of the project.
“This update is to offer a transparent opportunity for discussion of the nature of the delay and expected costs,” said Crager. “Now that the County’s bond sale is complete and the legislative session has adjourned, we have a clear picture of our resources and the budget for this project. We will need to continue discussions with the Oregon Justice Department staff to bring the design into alignment with required standards and the funds available.”
In choosing to delay while negotiating with the state, the commissioners rejected two other options presented by county staff, either scuttling the district attorney’s office in favor of building the courthouse as the state currently requires, or pulling out of the project, courthouse and all.
Essentially, the plan is now to see if the state will back off its minimum size requirement, while still providing matching funds.
Courthouse Numbers: In March of 2022, the estimated cost was $50 million for a 35,682 square foot courthouse. In addition, an approximately 9,000 square foot District Attorney’s Office was originally planned to be funded through the county borrowing $8 million.
The courthouse is operated by the State of Oregon. So, half of the cost would be funded through an Oregon Justice Department matching grant and half funded through County borrowing, according to a release from the county.
Since 2022, costs increased, but the state and county had planned to meet those costs. But recently the costs increased even more.
“To meet budget requirements, the design for the District Attorney’s office has been reduced from 9,000 to 8,000 square feet. Oregon Justice Department representatives have requested a design with 37,500 square feet, which is the programmatic square footage initially developed by the architect and OJD, increasing costs by an estimated $4.5 million,” stated a county release.
Now, county staff have recommended, and the commissioners have approved, moving forward with the project and continuing negotiations with the state to reduce the square footage for the courts to bring costs in alignment with available funds
If the state reconsiders and ultimately agrees, total construction costs would now be closer to the original $50 million project estimate, but the construction timeline will shift to a Spring 2024 start date. The county is expected to give additional updates on the project in the coming weeks.
Obviously, quite a bit will rest on the state’s ultimate decision.
Comment Corner: Corvallis City Councilor Charlyn Ellis is next up on the agenda to host a Government Comment Corner.
Councilor Ellis will be in the lobby of the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library from 10 am to 12 pm on Saturday, July 15.
This is open to the public for anyone who wants to stop by and ask questions about local government in the City of Corvallis.
For more information on the event visit https://www.corvallisoregon.gov/mc/page/government-comment-corner-councilor-ellis-9
By Jennifer Warner
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