Citing concerns that the county government could be spending a substantial amount of money on a temporary fix, the Calvert County Commissioners opted to defer action on proposed changes to their courthouse hearing room. The commissioner took their stance during the Tuesday, Sept. 24 meeting.
The renovations to the Calvert County Courthouse’s Commissioner’s Hearing Room, located on the facility’s second floor are being requested by circuit court officials due to an increased docket. Presently the hearing room is used by the commissioners most Tuesdays and the court system on the other four weekdays.
Last week, Governor Martin O’Malley [D] appointed a third judge for Calvert County Circuit Court.
According to a memo from Department of General Services Director V. Wilson Freeland, the commissioners and court officials “agreed upon renovation of the commissioners’ hearing room to accommodate a third judge and to provide improved security for the court.”
While the majority of commissioners did not appear ready to renege on the agreement, there were clearly issues with the lack of renovation options, the timing of the plan in light of tight economic times and a lack of participation by the state.
Freeland explained a contract was awarded to Patuxent Architects to design the renovation project and provide a cost estimate.
The construction cost estimate presented to the commissioners was for $206,025 and includes office relocations, HVAC replacements and recording system. An additional $47,810 is needed to modify the Courthouse Square Conference Room for interim use by the county commissioners and circuit court. The current use of the courthouse hearing room would resume when the project was completed.
A public hearing for the purpose of determining a funding source would be required before the project could move forward.
“I’m not going to support this,” declared Commissioner Gerald W. “Jerry” Clark [R]. Noting the long-range plan is for the commissioners and county government to be completely relocated from the courthouse, Clark predicted another costly renovation project will have to be done in three to five years. “It doesn’t make sense to me to spend that money now,” he added.
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