Leaders discuss possible uses for old courthouses
Tuolumne County staff will seek proposals on the costs of a study to determine the space needs of departments that could be moved to the two soon-to-be-vacant courthouses in downtown Sonora, as well as the installation of an elevator in one of them.
The county Board of Supervisors gave the greenlight at a special meeting on Tuesday to go ahead and seek quotes from companies before voting on whether to move forward with the projects, which are being discussed as part of a larger effort to reorganize departments into county-owned buildings and reduce the amount paid for rent.
Both county-owned buildings at 41 Yaney Ave. and 60 N. Washington St. will become empty after Tuolumne County Superior Court moves its operations out of them and over to the new, $70 million courthouse at the Law and Justice Center, which is scheduled to open June 28 and will be entirely funded and owned by the state.
Each building is over 100 years old and will need adjustments to retrofit them for new uses, particularly the three-story Historic County Courthouse on Yaney Avenue that was constructed in the late 1890s and does not meet modern accessibility standards for people with disabilities due to the lack of an elevator.
“We will not be able to change services and be in that building without putting an elevator in that building,” County Administrator Tracie Riggs said about the Historic County Courthouse during a presentation to the board.
Some of possible uses include moving the offices for county administration, county counsel and board meeting chambers from the fourth floor of the County Administration Center at 2 S. Green St. into the adjacent Historic County Courthouse.
The county’s Information Technology Department could then be moved into the fourth floor of the County Administration Center from a building at 105 Morning Star Drive, which the county currently pays $150,000 per year to rent.
Riggs noted that the county has been renting the IT Department’s current building for approximately the past 15 years, which would equate to more than $2.2 million total for rent over that period at the current rate.
Another idea that was discussed would move the county District Attorney’s Office from a county-owned former church building at 423 N. Washington St. across from Sonora High School to the soon-to-be former courthouse at 60 N. Washington St., both to be closer to the new courthouse and away from the traffic at the school.
The building at 423 N. Washington St. could then be sold by the county to help offset some of the costs of remodeling the former courthouse to meet the needs of the District Attorney’s Office.
“I’m all for it,” said County Supervisor Kathleen Haff. “I think the sale of the old church that the DA’S in is a brilliant idea to
recoup some costs.”
County Supervisor Jaron Brandon said he would like to see more options for possible uses of the buildings, such as learning or museum spaces in the historic courthouse. He also suggested town halls to get input from the public.
Riggs said she wasn't sure how much the spaceneeds study or installation of the elevator could cost until they receive proposals from potential contractors, which will be brought to the board at a future meeting for a decision on whether to move forward.
Though staff does not always go to the board first before seeking such proposals, Riggs said she felt it was necessary this time because of the public interest in the future uses of the buildings and to make sure they are proceeding in the direction that the board wants.
The board also voted 4-1 at the meeting to approve recommended adjustments to the budget for the current fiscal year that ends June 30 after receiving more than $1.2 million in revenue that wasn't anticipated when the final budget was approved in September.
Much of the additional revenue will go toward restoring concessions made by county employee groups early in the COVID-19 pandemic that included a reduction to salaries and benefits of about 6%, which will be paid back retroactively through the approved adjustments.
Brandon voted against the recommended changes after others on the board overruled a motion he made to have a separate discussion about $105,000 in additional spending on an upcoming special election in June for voters to decide on a proposed parcel tax aimed at providing more stable funding for county fire services.