LAKE COUNTY — A new courthouse building is in the works, and the Lake County Superior Court system is gearing up to move out of the fourth floor of the Lake County Courthouse on Forbes Street in Lakeport, according to assistant CEO Kip Rodda.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 1407 in September, increasing court fees to fund 41 court facility projects statewide.
According to the California Judicial Council”s updated list of projects, building a new courthouse building for Lake County is an “immediate” priority, the highest out of five categories.
“They”re telling us we can move in in 2014, and we”re asking for money in the 2009-10 fiscal year for the land acquisition process,” Rodda said.
He said a new courthouse for Lake County was flagged as a top priority because of security, overcrowding and structural problems on the fourth floor.
“It will have a jury assembly room, attorney client rooms and witness waiting rooms. Also, the fourth floor is not level; it slopes. We”re also concerned about the safety of the public. The screening works, but it doesn”t catch everything,” Rodda said.
The new courthouse is estimated to cost $71.7 million to build. Rodda said a site for the new courthouse has not yet been identified, but the new facility will need approximately three acres to allow space for the building and parking lot.
The new building will have the front entrance security screening now in place at the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport, and whether the security stays when the court system moves will be up to the county, Rodda said.
The trial court system currently housed in the Lake County Courthouse building is now state property after negotiations concluded in September, according to Lake County Chief Deputy Administrative Officer Matt Perry. He said the state purchased equity rights to the fourth floor, and charges the county a flat fee for maintenance costs. In addition, the state reimburses the county for a portion of its utility bill for the building.
Perry said the transfer put Lake County on the state”s list to get a new court building. Once the court system moves out of the fourth floor, the county will negotiate to get back its equity rights.
“The hope is to acquire those rights. So if we provide land, we hope that the value of that land would apply to the acquisition of the equity rights to the fourth floor,” Perry said.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636 ext. 37.
