1/21/1992 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Commissioner Bird asked whether we could provide a covered walkway from the garage across the street so that people could enter the courthouse on rainy days without getting wet. He felt we might be criticized for not providing cover. Architect Randy Park explained that they had talked about providing cover over the street, but it really came down to money. Mr. Aubry noted that it is a very short distance to cross the street from the parking garage to reach the covered walkway leading to the front entrance of the courthouse. Commissioner Scurlock stated that he has been an advocate of having a larger footprint for the judicial complex rather than a smaller one, because once we build this facility, it is going to be the anchor for the downtown area and we are hoping that significant { new activity will occur. In looking at the general design of this complex, he is concerned about the out parcel facing 20th Street between 16th- and 17th Avenues. He was concerned about the cost effectiveness of allowing that out parcel to exist without county control, both as to the view of the building and to making some adjustments in the ingress and egress. Commissioner Scurlock realized that it is difficult to sell these long-range plans to the public, especially when you put a dollar sign to them and acquiring that property might be a fair cost, but he honestly thought we ought to seriously consider how much it would take to acquire that out parcel. When you consider we will be occupying this courthouse for a very long time, he would advocate a larger footprint. Chairman Eggert agreed with Commissioner Scurlock on that point. She had to confess, however, that she had been very disappointed that the courthouse was turned to face 16th Avenue instead of north facing the library, but she felt it is a lovely design and she is reassured on hearing that the window panes are much larger than they appear on the model. Commissioner Scurlock suggested,the City of Vero Beach belly up to the bar to see if there couldn't be some joint participation in the cost of acquiring this out parcel. He noted that not one City Councilman is here this morning, although Kevin Doty did telephone this morning to say that he would like to see the building facing east towards the downtown area. He emphasized that the voters did pass a 1 -cent optional sales tax to fund the construction of this facility and it would be nice to see the City step forward after our spending over $20 -million in the downtown area to see if there could be some joint participation in the acquisition of the out parcel. Commissioner Wheeler felt the building is aesthetically pleasing from all 4 sides, but stressed that the emphasis must be 21 a0OK 6",