Building new for all of the county government needs at once would not be a solid financial proposal, and that’s the main reason behind building a new courthouse west of the existing one, according to the consultant overseeing the project.
Kurt Berner, of The Samuels Group, addressed that concern and more at the public property committee meeting May 7.
Supervisor Jeremy Gretzinger brought up the issue at the April county board meeting and again, in more detail, at the committee meeting.
Among his biggest concerns is whether a greenfield site, specifically on land south of County Road B, was explored as a home for a new government center.
“It was explored along with multiple other options,” Berner said, “and really the driving force behind the master plan was to create a justice center model where we are combining the courthouse and the court function and the security issues that we have, and the sites that were looked at to be able to accomplish that were this site, also the site out by the work release center and then there was a greenfield site.”
He said the site that made the most sense was next to the existing building.
“If you were to go into a greenfield site, everything that is to the north of the courthouse right now with the existing jail and the sheriff’s office would have to be rebuilt,” Berner said. “In addition, the dispatch would have to be rebuilt, the tower would have to be relocated, and then all of the infrastructure for the utilities would have to be accommodated for that greenfield site.”
The current plan includes a new courthouse, jail housing pod and auxiliary services for the jail at a cost of up to $121 million. It would also close the work release center across town on Engel Drive.
Adding a second housing pod and a new sheriff’s department would be another $80 million, something the county could consider as a second phase a decade from now.
However, if a greenfield site is chosen, all would have to be built now or continue with having jail functions split between two sites, which Berner called more expensive and inefficient.
“It’s not something that would have been an advisable borrowing for your tax base,” Berner said about building all at once. “So this one here gives you the approach that we’re going to be able to look at a phased approach to be able to get to that in the future.”
Also, demolishing the courthouse is included in the cost estimate and would be done even if the county built on a greenfield site, Berner said. He said it’s best to tear down the building and sell the vacant land instead of trying to sell an old courthouse building.
Addressing another question, Berner said the working relationship with the city is going well.
“We have engaged them before we even got to present this option to you to talk about vacating the street, talk about utility locations, talk about what the steps would be to be able to coordinate with the city,” he said.
Berner also said parking would be sufficient at the new courthouse without having to rely on street parking.
Parking space on the north side of the land near the historical society could be used by staff or the sheriff’s department. Designated judicial parking on the back side of the courthouse could be used for safety and security purposes.
City ordinances will also require sufficient parking.
Berner said his company has worked on building several jails across the state.
“One of the challenges that you have with placing a jail in a community is that if you move a jail from one part of a community to another part of a community, you’re now placing a jail in a location where it has never been before, and you’ve got neighbors there that may not be too thrilled about placing a jail in their neighborhood,” Berner said. “We have also been challenged that if that jail is in close proximity to a school, that’s not well received by the community.”
Shawano Community High School is located south of County Road B.
He said the same concerns aren’t there if you renovate or expand a jail at its current site.
“All of the neighbors have either been there for years where the jail has been, or they purchased it there,” he said.
