LAKE COUNTY ? The state is seeking architectural and engineering firms to design and build a new courthouse in Lakeport. Simultaneously, a committee is beginning the process of selecting a site for the new building.
The Lake County Superior Court System is moving forward in its preparations to move out of the fourth floor of the Lake County Courthouse on Forbes Street in Lakeport. The Judicial Council of California Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) sent out a request last week for architectural firms to send qualifications for pre-design, design and construction of courthouse projects in 13 counties, including Lake County. The deadline to submit proposals is 2 p.m. on March 27.
“This is very good news,” Lake County Superior Court CEO Mary E. Smith said Wednesday on seeing the request for proposals online for the first time.
Smith said the new courthouse will need at least three acres to accommodate additional working space and parking. She is on a committee that began the process of selecting a building site by meeting with county and Lakeport officials and identifying approximately 13 sites in the city that fit the criteria.
“The community and the court will decide on a couple of sites and make a recommendation to the AOC,” Smith said.
Smith said public input is welcome, but how it should be received is not yet certain.
“We want this to be something the community will be happy with. This is a new process, and we are figuring out how to do this so people have a say, but we are not sure what that will look like because we just got started. But the more input the better,” Smith said.
The new courthouse is estimated to cost more than $70 million to build, according to an AOC project feasibility report published July 1, 2008. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 1407 in September, increasing court fees to fund 41 court construction projects statewide.
Building a new courthouse in Lakeport was given top priority in the AOC report because of security, overcrowding and structural problems identified on the fourth floor, where the trial court system is currently housed.
The AOC report notes that the current Lakeport court facility lacks a jury assembly room, a witness waiting room and space for attorneys to meet with clients. Additionally, the report notes that juvenile prisoners are held in a storage room, judges do not have secure parking, mediation is handled in crowded public hallways, prisoners are led through public hallways and court staff must share limited work space.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
