County votes for Rockwood courthouse
Finding funding for the multi-million dollar project still an issue
By a unanimous vote, Multnomah County commissioners approved moving forward with a plan for a new courthouse in Gresham’s Rockwood area Thursday, Oct. 1.
If built – and it is still an if as the county has yet to approve funding for the $17 million to $21 million project – the courthouse will replace Gresham’s old, single courtroom facility on Powell Boulevard.
Because so many citizens signed up to testify – all in favor of the project – the 90-minute hearing ran over and two of the five commissioners had to leave for scheduled engagements before voting. But commissioners Jeff Cogen and Deborah Kafoury voiced support for the resolution before leaving.
A small cry of hooray rang out followed by applause after the remaining commissioners passed the resolution, which calls for construction of a new courthouse on county-owned property just south of Stark Street off 185th Avenue.
“The resolution is adopted,” declared a triumphant Multnomah County Chairman Ted Wheeler, who along with Commissioner Diane McKeel, championed the courthouse plan.
“It’s been a long time coming,” McKeel said.
It’s the first step toward building the courthouse in that the resolution approves spending $800,000 on a “schematic design process” for the facility, which is to house two to three courtrooms and space for the county’s district attorney’s office.
The process is to include preliminary plans, a site plan, architectural specifications, cost estimates and updated budget details.
Once the process is complete, an oversight committee would review it before seeking approval from county commissioners to move forward with design and construction as soon as next spring. It’s scheduled to open in spring 2012.
Dilapidated facility
The current courthouse is on Powell Boulevard in the old Gresham City Hall, which the city still owns, said Gresham Mayor Shane Bemis during the county’s courthouse hearing Thursday.
“It’s not often that your landlord shows up to tell you that the building he is leasing you is woefully inadequate and in disrepair, but that’s exactly what brings me here today,” Bemis said. “ … The roofs and windows leak, the pipes backup, creating flooding and sewage spills. At times, porta potties have been brought in to the parking lot due to failure of the plumbing.”
Not to mention the fact that the building was never designed or intended for use as a courthouse, he added.
Multnomah County Commissioner Judy Shiprack, who toured the facility on Wednesday with Multnomah County Judge Jean Maurer, called the building “embarrassingly inadequate.” The day’s rain dripped into buckets set out to catch the water leaking through the ceiling.
Judges, police chiefs from Gresham, Fairview, Troutdale, the county sheriff, local legislators, mayors and city councilors – basically representatives from all three branches of government – testified that the courthouse is too small to meet the demands of East Multnomah County’s explosive population growth.
“The facilities are atrocious,” said Multnomah County District Attorney Michael Schrunk, adding that the need for a new courthouse in Gresham was a “burning issue” in 1981 when he was elected.
County Sheriff Bob Skipper echoed those sentiments.
“I think it’s time we stop talking and start shoveling some dirt,” he said.
Reservations
Some county commissioners did question building cost contingencies, how the county would pay for the building and whether it would be more cost effective to lease space instead of building a county-owned facility.
“There are trade offs involved, we’re looking at an $8 million deficit next year,” Cogen said, adding that his questions about the courthouse project are “not because I don’t value East County, it’s because I value all of Multnomah County.”
Thursday’s vote to move ahead with the courthouse in Rockwood was welcome news, but jaded residents are watching with guarded optimism.
“OK, but how long will it be in limbo?” asked Joe Panza, owner of Guiseppe’s Italian Restaurant in Rockwood upon hearing that the board voted yes. When told about the funding challenges, he said, “Well, let’s keep our fingers crossed.”
Even former Commissioner Lonnie Roberts, who worked on the plan during his eight years on the board representing East Multnomah County, said he wants to be at the groundbreaking to see it for himself.
“With the history of this project, it’s easy to doubt it will materialize,” he said. “But we as residents need to keep lobbying the board for funding. We can’t lose interest in the project.”
Decades in the making
For 25 years, Multnomah County has studied where to build a new courthouse in Gresham.
In 2007, the county purchased 4.5 acres just south of Southeast 185th Avenue and Stark Street for a new justice center, complete with courtrooms and space for Gresham police and the county sheriff’s office.
Many business owners and neighborhood advocates lobbied for the county to build the justice center in Rockwood. They argued it would attract businesses, help lower crime rates and improve the area’s overall image.
But when the price tag more than doubled to nearly $43 million and the economy collapsed, Multnomah County scaled down the facility to a simple courthouse in February.
The county also decided – as a money-saving strategy – to move the project from Rockwood to county-owned land in downtown Gresham. The city’s urban renewal agency was interested in buying the 4.5 acres in Rockwood, which would make it cheaper for the county to build in the downtown core.
New plan
However, given the recession, Gresham’s urban renewal agency can’t afford to buy the property. Last week, the county unveiled a new proposal to bring the courthouse back to its original location in Rockwood.
The 35,000- to 40,000-square-foot facility will house one large courtroom with space for a 12-person jury, a smaller courtroom for a six-person jury and medium sized flexible courtroom that could be used for after-hours community activities.
Plans call for continuing Southeast 185th Avenue, which now stops at Stark Street, through the site. The courthouse building would be where a closed KFC now sits south of Stark Street and west of where 185th will continue.
A secured parking lot would be south of the courthouse with space for expansion farther south or to the east. Until demand creates the need for even more courtrooms, property for future expansion could be used as community gardens.
The county also is considering using a building that used to shelter a house-cleaning business on the far east side of the property as space for community meetings or even Gresham police.
Although Gresham has a police office just across the street from the proposed courthouse site, the city’s urban renewal officials plan a mixed-use development on the urban renewal agency’s property.
Rep. Greg Matthews, D-Gresham, said the courthouse project could jumpstart Gresham’s urban renewal efforts to the north.
“It’s going to take someone to be first in,” Matthews said.
Rockwood resident Nick Kahl, D-Gresham, said the courthouse would not only provide a much-needed service to East County but could serve as an engine for economic development in Rockwood.
“Rockwood could have a renaissance,” said Kahl, a resident of the area. “It could see a rebirth. And for the people who live here this means a whole lot more than a courthouse.”