http://www.azcentral.com/news/articl...tower0607.html
Critics Blast Timing, Cost of Court-Tower Project
43 comments by Yvonne Wingett - Jun. 7, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
Maricopa County's criminal-court tower project has spurred investigations and complaints by county law enforcement and politicians.
But work goes on for the downtown Phoenix project, and the Board of Supervisors remains steadfast in its support: "There's not anything more important than building that courthouse," Supervisor Max Wilson said.
With a $340 million price tag, the project is the most expensive in county history.
It is also one of the largest. The dirt-scraped block near First Avenue and Madison Street will be home to a 16-story tower that will house 22 courtrooms by 2012 with another 10 shelled for future use.
Some people have said a new court tower isn't needed, or that now was not the time to build it, amid the poor economy.
Critics Sheriff Joe Arpaio and County Attorney Andrew Thomas opened an investigation, and County Treasurer Charles Hoskins also asked lawmakers to inquire.
Over the past several months, workers demolished the Madison Street garage and administrators put bids out for labor and materials. The board last week authorized a $63 million contract with construction company Gilbane-Ryan.
"It's fair public comment to be against the project, whatever your reasons are," County Manager David Smith said. "But we're improving efficiencies. We expect it to be a 50-year, maybe a 100-year building. There isn't marble," he said, disputing claims that it's a Taj Mahal-style building with gold fixtures and marble floors.
"It's going to be like B-level quality."
Criminal justice is a primary role of county government: About 62 percent of the county's $1.3 billion general budget is devoted to public safety, and costs continue to rise.
The supervisors started planning the tower 12 years ago to help handle future growth in the criminal-justice system and for years have saved cash for the project.
A decade later, in 2007, the board authorized $340 million to design and build the project.
Supervisors and court and county administrators believe the court space will speed up trials and save money on housing inmates.
The Superior Court handles about 40,000 felony cases a year, and the number has grown by more than 6 percent yearly, according to Superior Court figures. By 2016, officials say the number will reach 55,000.
The courts have outgrown current facilities, officials said, and demand is at an all-time-high. Space is so tight that court administrators juggle courtrooms with vacationing and sick judges.
"The buildings you see here (current court facilities), were all built in the '60s and '70s," said court administrator Marcus Reinkensmeyer. Since then, the county's population has tripled.
"We think the new building is going to allow us to move around all of these thousands of inmates more efficiently, get them to court, allow them to have interviews with their attorneys in a much safer way," Reinkensmeyer said.
County officials spent more than two years working with an architect to design the tower.
The tower will include a large jury-assembly room for the entire criminal-court complex, state-of-the-art technology and separate waiting rooms for victims and witnesses.
So far, the county has spent about $40 million on the project, including construction, insurance, project management and consulting, said James Foley, deputy director with Facilities Management.
The poor economy has made the project more affordable. With the project 18 percent complete, costs have come in almost $4 million under budget, he said. Items bid to date were estimated to cost $40 million while the actual bids came in at $36 million.
"We're seeing very good pricing, but there's still a long way to go," he said.
The controversy
While the economy has been good for prices, it's been bad for public support.
"What kind of morons do we have sitting on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors?" asked Carol Dello Russo of Cave Creek in a Republic letter to the editor. "Now is not the time to be looking 30 to 50 years into the future. What is needed now is an immediate fix to a serious problem."
Earlier this year, as budget negotiations between county officials and Arpaio and Thomas deteriorated, the pair suggested that officials should kill or postpone the project and use the money to balance the county's $138.2 million shortfall.
On March 27, Arpaio and Thomas said they were conducting an investigation into "funding and contracts" for the tower.
A Superior Court judge disqualified Thomas from an ongoing grand-jury criminal investigation, saying he could not be involved in the case since his office provided legal advice on it.
Thomas later sent the case to Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk.
Dennis McGrane, chief deputy county attorney for Yavapai County, said he was working with MCSO on the case but would not comment on what progress the investigation had made.
County Treasurer Hoskins, meanwhile, has asked Republican lawmakers to look into the tower project and told The Republic it should be halted because officials have "refused to give me detailed information about their expenditures" on the project.
Hoskins publically questioned why the county is paying cash for the project at a time when financing is relatively cheap. The cash, he suggested, could be better used to help cover county shortfalls.
"I have no reason to suspect impropriety," he said at a news conference last month. "It's nice to have cash in times like these."