Editorial: Get good figures before making courthouse plan

Part of the Johnson County Courthouse is 64 years old, and even the addition has been around for 43 years. It’s not the modern, efficient building one would expect to find in the affluent, fast-growing county.

The idea of constructing new courtrooms and offices to serve them has been around for about a decade. But the county hasn’t backed any upgrades for two main reasons.

The first is that the project easily would top $100 million, making it a large expense for taxpayers.

The second is that previous studies haven’t firmed up the best way to move forward.

Should the county build all-new facilities and bulldoze the current courthouse? Or erect some new courtrooms but keep the current courthouse functioning?

Fortunately, the current commission finally appears ready to move toward a serious review of its future options.

The best way to handle the issue is to get lots of information from the county staff on various plans and their costs.

Most notably, the county staff needs to determine whether it would make any sense to keep operating part of the court system in a building that has lots of efficiency concerns. As The Star recently noted, they include “inadequate separation of visitors, court officials and inmates, limited space for security and waiting ... and energy-sucking mechanical systems.”

No decision is imminent. The staff needs to compile more precise detail for the commission to consider in the next four to six months.

Eventually, elected officials will have to decide the best way to pay for the project, which could require a public vote on bonds and a tax increase.

This story was originally published September 15, 2015 at 6:46 PM with the headline "Editorial: Get good figures before making courthouse plan."