Strolling into a new San Benito County Courthouse could be a
reality within four years, but local government officials must
first recommend whether it should remain downtown.
Strolling into a new San Benito County Courthouse could be a reality within four years, but local government officials must first recommend whether it should remain downtown.
To do that, a Project Advisory Team has formed to work with the California Administrative Office of the Courts in constructing a 36,500-square-foot, three-courtroom facility for $32.5 million in San Benito County. The old courthouse on Fifth Street, built in 1962, does not provide enough space for the court’s daily business and lacks permanent security features for the public, such as metal detectors.
The advisory team’s first order of business – to be done by July 2008 – is to recommend where the new courthouse should be built and acquire land for the project.
As part of California Rules of Court, the advisory team is comprised of local officials, including both presiding county judges and representatives from the City of Hollister, City of San Juan Bautista and San Benito County.
The entire team meets every four weeks. A group of three team members – San Benito County Superior Court Executive Officer Gil Solorio, Hollister City Manager Clint Quilter and San Benito County Administrative Officer Susan Thompson – also meets every four weeks, making the meetings biweekly.
A Detroit-based architecture firm – which has an office in San Francisco – was selected about three weeks ago to design the new courthouse. The SmithGroup was chosen because of its work on a 192,0000-square-foot courthouse renovation in Fresno County, Solorio said.
Solorio said that if all goes as planned, a site could be selected before January.
“We’re in the process of reviewing criteria that can be applied to any site,” Solorio said.
And if the entire project stays on course, officials are estimating the new courthouse will be ready for use in June 2011.
Two sites have been discussed publicly for the courthouse.
The Hollister Redevelopment Agency pledged the old Fremont Elementary School site on Fourth Street, and the county has offered land next to the county jail and juvenile hall on Flynn Road.
“The court has understood the general consensus from the community is that the preferred site is downtown,” Solorio said. “But I can’t guarantee that is going to be the recommendation of the advisory team.”
The state has the final say on the courthouse’s location, but the advisory team’s recommendation will be weighed heavily.
Hollister Mayor Brad Pike, whose district includes the Fremont site, has been chosen along with Quilter to represent the city on the advisory team.
“I kind of like the idea of keeping the courts near downtown,” Pike said, later adding, “It just makes sense for the businesses around it.”
Pike said placing the courthouse near the jail would be better for law enforcement needs.
San Benito County Board of Supervisors Chairman Don Marcus and Thompson represent the county on the advisory team. Marcus would not say if he prefers a site.
“There’s positive and negative elements to both locations,” Marcus said.
Whatever the Project Advisory Team recommends, those involved agree that public input and transparency is needed.
Both the board of supervisors and Hollister City Council will discuss the project’s site with the public as part of their agendas.
“It’s got to be slow so no one makes any mistakes,” Pike said.
The advisory team also includes San Benito County Superior Court judges Harry Tobias and Steven Sanders and San Juan Bautista Mayor Priscilla Hill.
