Commission picks popular courthouse option

Calling the first and most popular option for a new judicial center more inviting, Douglas County commissioners voted Thursday 4-0 to approve the design.

The discussion was the longest debate among a half-dozen items related to the design and funding of the new courthouse.

Three options for the new building were presented to commissioners that were subject to public outreach.

Commissioner and Minden resident Sharla Hales said she believed the decision was one of the most visible in the county.

“This is the vote that will have the most visual impact of any vote we take,” she said. “I’ve thought a lot about this.”

District Attorney Mark Jackson spoke on behalf of the current occupants of the Judicial & Law Enforcement Center, saying that both district judges preferred the first option.

“The top list of what was most important to me was No. 1, victim safety, No. 2 was security and No. 3 was light,” he said.

Commissioners Mark Gardner and Danny Tarkanian said they liked the first option.

“I think it’s a better looking building,” Tarkanian said.

Gardner pointed out that the overhang provides more shelter to the front of the building and that it matched what might be future structures on a county campus on the property.

“It’s important to understand that we have 57 acres out there,” he said. “We’re going to take more of that acreage and bring in a county campus to consolidate a number of offices. This design meets more with what I envision in the future on that site, as opposed to the imposing courthouse structure.”

Minden Town Board members voted 3-2 in favor of the least popular option on July 3. They will get another look at the design of the building at a future meeting.

Commissioners also approved an internal floorplan for the building and picked CORE Construction as the construction manager at risk.

One of the first buildings on that campus besides the judicial center may be for the Juvenile Probation Office proposed for next door. That building would cost an additional $3 million and would be bid as an add-on to the project. If the bid exceeds $51 million, it would be eliminated from the project. That means Juvenile Probation would remain in the current Judicial & Law Enforcement Center until the county could afford to build.