by Neil Richard
The King George County Supervisors and the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee dedicated a single night to discussing the future plans of the County but more specifically the Courthouse. This meeting on October 3rd was their fourth Capital Improvement Program (CIP) meeting of the year but not the first time a plan for the future Courthouse was discussed. You can find an abundance of links in our prior coverage here as well as a details from a tour I took earlier this year and a great article by Sean Gates linking the past and future. While many of the Supervisors referred to the discussion as the "elephant in the room" I felt like it was the horse that died years ago and has been continually beaten.
Thankfully, after this particular meeting, it feels like everyone has agreed to move forward with building a new Courthouse. There was a lot of discussion regarding how much square footage was needed and the impression I got was that all of the Supervisors felt only 50,000 square feet was necessary. One judge and the Commonwealth's Attorney, Keri Gusmann, both spoke to the projected need of 63,000 square feet by 2027 and the fear that not building it to that size now would mean increased costs in the near future. Even though she said it was shortsighted, Gusmann was careful to say she didn't want to "give back" the idea that the Supervisors would at least build 50,000 square feet.
After a lot of discussion from everyone, including some unique and novel ideas, the Board ended up with a general plan to build a 63,000 square foot building but to somehow segregate or keep separate and secure 13,000 square feet for administrative offices. The remaining 50,000 square feet would be for the courts. Essentially, it would be one building but have two different entrances. It was clear this wasn't what the Courthouse staff was hoping for but seeing as they did not control the purse strings, it felt like they were willing to work in a building without mold.
As a part of the Courthouse discussion, Cathy Binder gave a presentation on her vision for the County as a whole. She covered a large number of infrastructure needs and wants that ranged from buildings to property to roads. Her presentation was fast, chock-full of information, and clearly something she was passionate about. Binder admitted she may not have all the answers or may not make everyone happy but she gave the best researched presentation I've seen from a Supervisor in my brief time covering their meetings. Being newly elected to the role of Supervisor in 2017, her presentation not only displayed her passion for the County's future but also her growth as a leader.
Without going through her twenty four pages of ideas in detail, the highlights discussed focused around the Courthouse and the future of the current School Board Office and former Middle School. Her vision for the current Courthouse was to remove the newer sections, renovate the original section, and then house the King George County Museum inside. Based on her recent tour of the old Middle School, Binder thought demolition was the best option but wanted to replace it with a newly constructed building for the School Board Office, Preschool, and Head Start. That would leave the current School Board Office could serve as a new home for the Parks and Recreation Department or be sold.
Binder also touched on the Golden Triangle of land between Route 3, Route 205, and Highway 301. She also discussed the now defunct bypass proposal, co-locating administrative offices in the new Courthouse building, and the potential cost savings of a modular building. While not every idea suited everyone at the table, everyone looked like they were infected with some of her enthusiasm for forward planning. By using the idea of having different county offices in the new Courthouse, Dr. Young said that existing office space would be freed up, thus solving one of his issues. Binder's idea to develop exit plans for county owned properties also caught the attention of other Supervisors as they all added their comments on what building needed one first.
Which drove the final discussion to fruition, the next CIP meeting. Granger, and the rest of the Supervisors, felt that the Preschool students needed to move to a better location sooner rather than later. This led Binder to push for consensus from the Board, which they gave, to develop an exit strategy for the current Courthouse and School Board Office as well as discuss the future move of both groups. That meeting will be held on October 23rd and will be the fifth CIP meeting of the year.
The King George County Supervisors and the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee dedicated a single night to discussing the future plans of the County but more specifically the Courthouse. This meeting on October 3rd was their fourth Capital Improvement Program (CIP) meeting of the year but not the first time a plan for the future Courthouse was discussed. You can find an abundance of links in our prior coverage here as well as a details from a tour I took earlier this year and a great article by Sean Gates linking the past and future. While many of the Supervisors referred to the discussion as the "elephant in the room" I felt like it was the horse that died years ago and has been continually beaten.
Thankfully, after this particular meeting, it feels like everyone has agreed to move forward with building a new Courthouse. There was a lot of discussion regarding how much square footage was needed and the impression I got was that all of the Supervisors felt only 50,000 square feet was necessary. One judge and the Commonwealth's Attorney, Keri Gusmann, both spoke to the projected need of 63,000 square feet by 2027 and the fear that not building it to that size now would mean increased costs in the near future. Even though she said it was shortsighted, Gusmann was careful to say she didn't want to "give back" the idea that the Supervisors would at least build 50,000 square feet.
After a lot of discussion from everyone, including some unique and novel ideas, the Board ended up with a general plan to build a 63,000 square foot building but to somehow segregate or keep separate and secure 13,000 square feet for administrative offices. The remaining 50,000 square feet would be for the courts. Essentially, it would be one building but have two different entrances. It was clear this wasn't what the Courthouse staff was hoping for but seeing as they did not control the purse strings, it felt like they were willing to work in a building without mold.
As a part of the Courthouse discussion, Cathy Binder gave a presentation on her vision for the County as a whole. She covered a large number of infrastructure needs and wants that ranged from buildings to property to roads. Her presentation was fast, chock-full of information, and clearly something she was passionate about. Binder admitted she may not have all the answers or may not make everyone happy but she gave the best researched presentation I've seen from a Supervisor in my brief time covering their meetings. Being newly elected to the role of Supervisor in 2017, her presentation not only displayed her passion for the County's future but also her growth as a leader.
 |
| Supervisors, Staff, and Citizens listen to Binder's presentation. |
Without going through her twenty four pages of ideas in detail, the highlights discussed focused around the Courthouse and the future of the current School Board Office and former Middle School. Her vision for the current Courthouse was to remove the newer sections, renovate the original section, and then house the King George County Museum inside. Based on her recent tour of the old Middle School, Binder thought demolition was the best option but wanted to replace it with a newly constructed building for the School Board Office, Preschool, and Head Start. That would leave the current School Board Office could serve as a new home for the Parks and Recreation Department or be sold.
Binder also touched on the Golden Triangle of land between Route 3, Route 205, and Highway 301. She also discussed the now defunct bypass proposal, co-locating administrative offices in the new Courthouse building, and the potential cost savings of a modular building. While not every idea suited everyone at the table, everyone looked like they were infected with some of her enthusiasm for forward planning. By using the idea of having different county offices in the new Courthouse, Dr. Young said that existing office space would be freed up, thus solving one of his issues. Binder's idea to develop exit plans for county owned properties also caught the attention of other Supervisors as they all added their comments on what building needed one first.
Which drove the final discussion to fruition, the next CIP meeting. Granger, and the rest of the Supervisors, felt that the Preschool students needed to move to a better location sooner rather than later. This led Binder to push for consensus from the Board, which they gave, to develop an exit strategy for the current Courthouse and School Board Office as well as discuss the future move of both groups. That meeting will be held on October 23rd and will be the fifth CIP meeting of the year.
SUBSCRIBE OR DONATE
You can subscribe via email here. You can make a charitable donation here.
No comments:
Post a Comment