As Hamilton County officials work on the 2015 budget, commissioners and county council members have discussed capital spending priorities and requests. At the top of the list were several projects that will impact county services and residents.
Judicial center expansion
Extra space at the Hamilton County Judicial Center is nonexistent and officials decided to add to the building instead of find a new location to house county departments. However, state legislation has caused financial issues for counties – even if funds are available.
Officials estimate it would cost $20 million to build three shell stories and furnish the first floor. Any government or school project costing more than $12 million requires a referendum.
“We don’t want to do a referendum,” Commissioner President Christine Altman said.
Attorney Mike Howard said the expansion is expected to cost $150 per square foot and the project will make the addition look similar to the existing building. The expansion will be three stories with each floor having 35,000-square-feet. Officials are hopeful state laws are changed this year to allow the $12 million to not include design and project fees.
“Adding onto this building makes the most sense. Nothing works except for right here,” Hamilton County Councilor Brad Beaver said.
Other sites looked at include the county health department area on Ind. 37, but moving offices into the proposed addition would provide efficiency.
“It’s a one-stop shop. The way different offices interact, we’d like to keep them together,” Altman said, adding the first-floor expansion would house the auditor, treasurer, recorder and assessor’s offices.
Jail changes, expansion
As a result of legislative changes, beginning July 1, 2015 Indiana counties will be responsible for housing convicted inmates with Class D felonies instead of the Indiana Dept. of Corrections.
“Most Class D felonies are going to have to be served at jail or some alternative work release (site),” Howard said. “There is going to be pressure on our judges to manage that.”
Howard said this means anyone sentenced to less than one year of jail, which could be two years if half is removed for good behavior, would remain in the sentencing county.
“It will be our problem,” he said.
“The most immediate relief valve is a third-story work release,” said Dan Stevens, administrative assistant.
Officials said a shell was built on the third story of the Hamilton County Community Corrections so the county has 33,000-square-feet of open space available. It is estimated to cost $70 to $80 per square foot to build out that area into usable space.
“It’s $2.3 million to take care of the state’s problem. Then it’s operational issues,” Howard said.
Officials said they are looking at all of the facilities, including the juvenile detention center and former county jail.
“We’re looking at all of our assets, if we can do without building more buildings,” Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt said. “We need to use our assets more efficiently.”
Roadway upgrades
Hamilton County officials have a proposal to reduce traffic congestion and travel times along a six-mile stretch of Ind. 37 between Fishers and Noblesville by creating a freeway with roundabout intersections similar to Keystone Parkway in Carmel. A study advised the traffic issues and future failure of nine intersections between I-69 and Ind. 38 would be solved with such a renovation. The project will be a joint effort between the county, Noblesville, Fishers and INDOT.
Cost of the project to own and operate the roadway is estimated at $243 million for 50 years. Local officials are hoping for 85 to 90 percent of the funding to come from outside of Hamilton County and want to have the funds ready whenever it becomes time.
Altman believes the highway project will not be able to begin until 2019.
“2015 is the fastest to start even conceptual design,” she said.
The other major roadway needing to be addressed is a bypass for Ind. 32. Congestion on Conner and Logan streets in downtown Noblesville has created for the need to explore other east-west options through the heart of the city. One potential solution is extending Pleasant Street on both sides of the White River and building a bridge. The project, which would be an inter-local agreement, would require Noblesville to build the roadway and the county to construct the bridge.
“Pleasant Street, in my opinion, is long overdue,” councilor Steve Schwartz of Noblesville said.
Officials will set aside $5 million during the next three years for Ind. 37 and the Ind. 32 bypass.
“To me, this would be the highest priority on this list,” Commissioner Steve Dillinger said.
