Community could get tour of Elkhart County Judicial Center in June
GOSHEN — The Elkhart County Judicial Center is finally nearing completion.
Substantial completion, previously set for Jan. 17, is now May 25; and final completion is now set for July 14.
Elkhart County Commissioner Brad Rogers said community members should expect a community tour in early June.
'It's a work in progress,' Rogers said. 'We know people are anxious to see it.'
The project dates back to at least 2019, when a feasibility study was conducted to determine if the Elkhart and Goshen county courthouses would be better off combined.
'One of the things that we would like to continue to emphasis is that we are only one of four counties of 92 counties in the State of Indiana that have two courthouses, so to have it in one place is going to create some efficiencies we hope,' Rogers said.
Discussions, planning and design continued through the COVID-19 pandemic and by November 2021, construction was underway and has been ongoing ever since.
A design-build agreement with Performance Services Inc. had the project cost of the building at about $94 million up from the original estimate of $80-85 million. But as construction material prices rose, the final agreement came in at $96 million, where Elkhart County Administrator Jeff Taylor said it has remained. But today, that number is not expected to increase.
While costs of the building won't rise, Taylor noted that costs for non-construction items such as information technology equipment, furniture, appliances, body scanners, and other items that needed to be bid or separate from the building at later dates and were rounded costs at the time.
'Our goal is to hold the line at cost,' Rogers said. 'We knew we were going to have more than just the building.'
For everything, cost breakdown is roughly $83 million in bonds, $20 million from American Rescue Plan Act funds, $6.8 from the General Fund for furniture and other items, and $2.3 million from the C.R. 17 TIF fund for the related roadwork.
Taylor said in the last 12 months the total dollar amount has not changed, although there have been additional appropriations for some line items, reductions for others, and transfer of funds from ARPA to lower costs in other funds.
'Additional appropriations don't mean additional money,' Taylor said. 'Additional appropriations are we're getting the council's approval to spent the money. It's earmarked, budgeted, however you want to say it, but until you get approval from the council through an additional appropriation … you're getting approval from the council to spend money that's already there.'
PSI keeps the lights on at the building throughout the construction process due to an OSHA requirement and the company is also responsible for the electrical costs until the keys are handed over to the county at substantial completion.
Rogers also confirmed that some water damage impacted the building, but said it was mitigated quickly and at the expense of the contractor.
While the damage may have slowed the construction process, Taylor said it likely wasn't the cause of the nearly four-month delay thus far in the construction timeline.
'It could have been when you add up all the little things, he said. 'Some of the things I've been hearing over the last few years were supply chain issues from the very beginning. You of course have got to remember that coming out of COVID is when this whole thing started. I don't think there's delays now like we saw in the beginning.'
In addition, there were times, Taylor said, where during that time he heard about struggles getting subcontractors.
'I think initially there was some delays because of COVID, but not anymore,' he said.
PSI was not readily available to confirm the causes of the delays.
Taylor said the county will begin installing furniture into the new judicial building on March 3 anticipating no further delays right now. The furniture is currently being housed in a rental location at 2000 Middlebury St., Elkhart LLC. The fee is $3,000 per month, with furniture kept in a temperature-controlled environment.
Earlier in the month, commissioners approved a liquidated damages provision for $2,000 per day if the project has not reached substantial completion by May 25. Should final completion not be achieved by July 14, there also will be a $2,000 fine per day.
The new building will feature all county courts including courtrooms and clerks offices, probation, and the public defender's office.
'And then you've got things like jury deliberations and the jury rooms, offices for the judges, holding cells for inmates, sally ports — the garage area for the sheriff to pull into so it's a secure facility — judge's parking,' Rogers said.
The prosecutor's office is not slated to move.
The building is four floors high and 172,000 square feet.
Taylor said overall, given the number of courts in the county and the departments included in the building, the space is appropriate.
'There's a lot of space, but I think it looks like they made a pretty good decision on space needs,' he said. 'And if the county needs more space to add onto the courthouse, there's plenty of space out there.'
There are also a few extra courtrooms in the new building to account for possible growth. Rogers noted that Elkhart County has been hoping to ease the burden on judges as cases in Elkhart County increase.
House Bill 1381, titled Elkhart County Courts, would allow Elkhart County circuit and superior courts to appoint five full-time magistrates. The current law only allows for two. Magistrates are appointed by judges and not elected officials in their own right. The bill went to the full House for consideration on Thursday.
Rogers said the pedestrian bridge at the C.R. 17 overpass which was developed in 2017, and the City of Goshen's roundabout at Reliance Road and C.R. 17 were not parts of the project, but ultimately beneficial. The stop light that the federal government installed at U.S. 33 and Reliance Road, though, was.
The current plan has the Elkhart courthouse, public defender's office in Goshen, and the Dunlap satellite offices being vacated. The Goshen Courthouse will be renovated and repurposed to house commissioners, HR, IT, voter's registration, and possibly the parks department. While discussions aren't set in stone for the park's department, the move could also eliminate another building, on West Lincoln Avenue in Goshen, from the county oversight.
'What we're looking at is most of that building is going to be occupied,' Rogers said. 'We want it to be vibrant, we want it to be part of downtown Goshen, we want it to be part of that.'
The county is also in early discussions to consideration of working with the City of Goshen to allow the court that's currently in the basement — Superior Court 4 — to be used as a new city courthouse to help alleviate space at the Goshen Police & Courts Building on East Jefferson Street.
Circuit Court, located upstairs, will become the new commissioners meeting room and it may be that other boards use the meeting room too, since the old meeting room at the Elkhart County Administration Building will be remodeled into additional offices.
Rogers said he's excited for the Goshen courthouse as it will become accessible to the public, and retain much of the historic nature of the building.
After other departments have moved out of it, the Elkhart County Administration Building will also be renovated to house offices from the Dunlap location.
'What we don't want is the (Goshen courthouse) to be vacant for any length of time,' Rogers said. 'So the commissioners are prepared to move into that building fairly quickly.'
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