Title
Chief Administrative Office recommending the Board consider the following:
1) Appoint two (2) Board Members to participate on a committee along with two (2) members of the City Council of Placerville to review applications for the composition of the Blue Ribbon Committee; and
2) Make recommendations based on the review of the applications on filling the ten (10) seats for the Blue Ribbon committee as defined in the agenda item brought to the Board on February 3, 2015.
Body
Background
On September 9, 2014, the Board of Supervisors approved a recommendation which directed staff to coordinate with the City of Placerville to form a "Blue Ribbon Committee" to explore potential re-uses for the Main Street Courthouse once the court functions have relocated to the New Courthouse next to the County Jail in Placerville.
For several months, members of the Board of Supervisors, City Council, CAO and City Manager participated in Two-By-Two meetings to discuss next steps and determine the committee structure and define the mission. The City of Placerville took the lead on an agenda item that went before the City Council on January 27, 2015 for review of proposed guidelines resulting from the meetings that have been taking place.
On February 3, 2015, the Board of Supervisors reviewed the recommendations from the Two-By-Two meetings regarding the composition of the Blue Ribbon Committee and authorized staff to proceed with opening up the application period. The application period closed on March 13 with only 6 applications being received. The application period was extended to March 20 with a total of 32 applications being received.
The following is a brief historical background to frame the need for this committee:
The County has been contemplating the need to provide a comprehensive replacement for the aged and deteriorating Main Street Courthouse for quite some time, and has always anticipated that eventually a replacement court facility would be constructed at a suitable location within the county, and that future uses would have to be explored for the existing courthouse located in downtown Placerville.
In approximately 2002, overall responsibility for the Courts in the State of California was transferred from the individual Counties to the State of California. In El Dorado County, those facilities included the Main Street Courthouse in Placerville, the court in Cameron Park, the court in South Lake Tahoe, and the court facilities located in County Building "C". About that same time, the State adopted AB1407, which created a comprehensive dedicated funding program for the purpose of renovating and reconstructing court facilities throughout the state. Due to the age of the facility and existing environmental conditions and the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) long term plan for building a new courthouse in the county, the AOC elected not to take title to the Main St. courthouse and its ownership still remains with the County (see attached letter from the AOC datated 10/29/09).
In approximately 2008 the Judicial Council - Administrative Office of the Courts (Judicial Council) began the process to evaluate the existing courts in El Dorado County, and reached the conclusion that a new consolidated main courthouse was necessary. With that determination, the Judicial Council began a site selection process, soliciting proposals from willing property owners within the region (Western El Dorado County and eastern Sacramento County) to determine what suitable properties were available that could meet the needs of the El Dorado County Courts. A site has been selected by the Judicial Council that consists of approximately 2.5 acres of County owned land immediately west of the existing County Jail, to be combined with 5.2 acres of adjoining privately owned land, to create a 7.7 acre site for the new court facility. The County currently has an executed option agreement with the subject property owner to acquire the 5.2 acres of private land, merge it with the county owned property, and then transfer title to the 7.7 +/- acres to the State of California for the new court facility.
The Judicial Council has prepared and circulated the draft environmental document for the Court Project. The Judicial Council is reviewing and responding to comments and preparing the document for final circulation. It is anticipated that the document will be completed and certified in Spring 2015.
The current schedule for the new court facility anticipates that construction will be completed in 2019, at which time the court functions of the Main Street Courthouse, and the court functions currently occurring in Building "C" will all be relocated to the new facility.
In furtherance of the Judicial Council's commitment that the Main St courthouse remain a viable locally owned asset, the Judicial Council requested that the City and County initiate the process to explore the repurposing opportunities for the Main St. Courthouse. The Board of Supervisors gave direction to staff in September, 2014 and meetings commenced to begin considering the potential future uses of the Main Street Courthouse, and to develop a plan for its restoration and ongoing upkeep to assure that it continues to play an important economic and cultural role for the City of Placerville, and for the broader community of El Dorado County. The City Council gave similar direction to City of Placerville staff which has resulted in the information being provided today.
Reason for Recommendation
Staff is returning to the Board recommending that the Board of Supervisors appoint two (2) Board Members to participate on a committee along with two (2) members of the City Council of Placerville to review applications for the composition of the Blue Ribbon Committee and make recommendations based on the review of the applications on filling the 10 seats for the Blue Ribbon committee. The committee will be comprised of three (3) City of Placerville Residents, three (3) County Residents and four (4) Placerville Business Owners with at least one being from the Placerville Downtown Association.
The City Council of Placerville will also be asked to appoint two (2) City Council members at their meeting on Tuesday, April 14, 2015 to participate in the application review process.
Clerk of the Board Follow Up Actions
N/A
Contact
Pamela Knorr, Chief Administrative Officer
Kelly Webb - Analyst