Minutes - 19990914 - Laserfiche WebLink

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A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to amend the regular meeting schedule to change the location for September 21St to the courtroom in Hillsborough which will be continued to September 291h, and to change the purpose of the September 301h meeting to a work session. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Chair Gordon will decide tomorrow (September 15th) at noon whether or not the meeting for that night will be canceled. 1. Court Issues.: Update and Approval of Master Plan of Hillsborough Court Campus Site Purchasing Director Pam Jones made a presentation. In summary, she reported on the last five years, what has been done and what needs to be done regarding the Hillsborough Court Campus Site. The Board has been requested to consider two items. The first item is to endorse the security enhancement measures at the Hillsborough Court facility. The second item is to authorize the Manager's negotiated contract to look at a site master plan of the Hillsborough campus. She summarized the Justice Facilities Study Committee report of July 1995. After the two new facilities were opened, the Board charged a second group of people to look at the report and to determine if the findings were still valid, and to look at the impact of the two new facilities. The group found that there had been some relief provided by the new additions, but the increasing caseload in the court system was still requiring urgency for long term development of court facilities. At the same time that the validation committee was bringing forward their conclusions, the incident happened in which the young lady was assaulted. The Security Committee, which included court officials, County Commissioners, and County staff, had a meeting to talk about security issues at that point. She summarized the suggestions for enhanced security that were brought up at the meeting. One of the main goals for security was to provide a single point of entry to the Courthouse with a security checkpoint. There were several options for additions to the Court campus. She summarized the goals of the site plan. The cost of the master plan would be approximately $12,000, and would take six weeks to complete. She summarized the needs of the Chapel Hill court system. The lease cost for the Chapel Hill court system for fiscal year 1999-2000 will be $90,000 or more. She summarized the scope of study for the proposed site master plan. Judge Wade Barber said he really appreciated the emphasis on planning. He talked about how the Old Courthouse is being used. He said that the present courthouse is highly utilized and things are working out well. He appreciates what the County has done in that regard. In his office they have implemented a civil case management schedule which is working extremely well. In January he and Carl Fox will implement a criminal case management plan which will help with decreasing the caseload. He agrees that the County needs to do a comprehensive plan. He also feels that security needs to be addressed. He appreciates the two deputies in the courthouse at this time. He feels that placing the deputies outside the courthouse is the most important thing that could be done at this time regarding security. This is also the most economical thing they could do at this point. He thinks the security checkpoints will require a lot of long-range planning and facilities. He feels the Courthouse needs additional waiting areas. People are standing in the hallways at this time. He feels the County is on the right track in developing a long-range plan. Judge Joe Buckner supports making a good long-range plan for meeting Orange County's court needs. They are committed to using all of their resources. He has moved high volume court to the end of the week to manage parking facilities. They are