News Release 2002-2
January 25, 2002
Keeping County Offices Together
Improves Efficiency and Saves Money
by
Randall K. Gaylord, San Juan County Prosecutor
The Board of County Commissioners will answer an important question soon that will affect all of us for decades. Office space and a second courtroom are needed for San Juan County. Where should we place these buildings? How will the location affect you and the County's ability to serve you and, how much will the expansion cost? Now is the time for you to come forth with your comments.
During the past five years, second campus locations were studied in Friday Harbor - at the courthouse, across the street, at the Mercantile Building, the Technology Center, the Spring Street Station and on Guard Street, near the library. The latest report places the second courtroom at the courthouse and moves the Commissioners and the "financial group" (auditor, assessor, and treasurer) across the street.
I am pleased with the decision to site the second courtroom at the existing courthouse. But, for nearlyer? a decade, the Commissioners have been mired in how to make it happen.
Office space for several departments is bursting at the seams, with no room to grow. This fact, which is evident from walking around the courthouse, was confirmed by the 20-year study recently completed at the request of the Commissioners.
The Commissioners have before them two alternative plans:
1. Building a second campus at an estimated cost of at least $8 to $10 million, or
2. Expanding the existing courthouse facility at an estimated cost of $4 to $5 million.
This is a lot of money, but the cost will be even more if we delay our decision.
If we decide to build and move offices to separate buildings away from the courthouse, not only will it have a monetary effect on our community, it will also mean that citizens will not be able to come to one place and take care of all of their needs. Further, I believe it is important to free up as much land as possible for future needs of the community.
Our forefathers made the county officials accountable to the public and each other by creating nine separate elected offices with different, but overlapping responsibilities. The way in which we build and locate offices reveals a lot about the values we place in our County government and the citizens of our community. This is why I support expanding the County's existing building in the Courthouse and keeping our offices together.
All County employees depend upon one another to do our job well. We need to build relationships, communicate with each other, share ideas, maps, documents, papers and advice. While new technologies, such as e-mail, have been useful in sharing information, face-to-face meetings are needed to foster good working relationships.
A separation of offices will lead to unnecessary duplication of services and lack of productivity. By placing the offices in proximity to each other we foster the sharing of ideas, resources and camaraderie that will lead to a productive synergy and "can do" attitude. We need to break down barriers between elected officials, department heads and our staff, not erect them with separate buildings and isolated "campuses."
Most importantly, we need one central location for the citizens in San Juan County to visit. People learn about our office from making unannounced visits while attending to other business at the courthouse. Seeing how the elected officials do their job has many positive influences for our community and, these opportunities should be fostered. Separate campuses will compartmentalize our government. The public’s trust and knowledge of government are instrumental to its success.
The three important points to remember:
1. One location for the County's offices will better serve our community.
2. In the long run, it will cost far less to expand the courthouse than to have multiple campuses.
3. Keeping the County's offices in the courthouse will free up land for future needs of our community.
It is time for the Commissioners to make a decision on the location of our offices. What do you think? I would like to hear from you. This is a decision that will last a lifetime. Let’s make it right!