By HEATHER PYLES, CJ Staff Writer
SOMERSET — “Pulaski Court of Justice.”
The 78,000-square-foot judicial complex rising over downtown Somerset now has an official title.
After a short discussion last week, judicial center development board members agreed to name the facility “Pulaski Court of Justice” in anticipation of its grand opening. The facility is expected to be completed by the end of the summer — specifically, officials are hoping it will be up and running by the end of July.
Toward the end of last Tuesday’s board meeting, Pulaski Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Burdette asked whether it would be possible to vote on an official name for the facility. The board settled on “Pulaski County Court of Justice” and approved it in an unanimous vote.
Now that the name has been established, developers and judicial officials can begin ordering signs, forms and aesthetic items that incorporate the name.
Pulaski County Courthouse, where judicial offices and courtrooms are now located, suffers from overcrowding issues almost daily. Circuit, district and family courts, judges’ offices, the circuit clerk’s office, probation and parole and other offices directly related to the court system, will all be moved to the Court of Justice this summer. The move will free up much-needed space in the old courthouse for county offices.
In other news from last week’s meeting:
• Much of Tuesday’s meeting wasn’t taken up by the naming of the facility, but by the dwindling contingency fund board members are facing as construction begins to near its end — and as adjustments are being made.
Architect Dennis Bopp, with Bennett and Rosser International, the architectural firm heading the construction of the Pulaski Court of Justice, gave the board the month’s architect report, which included several change orders.
Bopp said around $365,000 remains in the contingency fund for the project. The board members had frequently pointed out in the past few months that the fund was disappearing quickly, but on Tuesday Bopp said several changes were made that would help “rebuild the contingency.”
“As we’re spending money here and there we’re trying to find ways to recoup the costs,” Tim Stone, also with Bennett and Rosser International, said.
The board quickly approved changing the facility’s fire alarm system from a Class A to a Class B, with Bopp and Stone both emphasizing that many judicial centers in the state operate with Class B alarm systems. That change will bring with it a $16,000 credit to the fund.
Stone told the board he and Bopp discussed the dire contingency fund situation with the project’s contractors and asked “everyone to really look hard at what we can do to save some money here.”
The board approved several other changes expected to bring a significant amount of money back into the contingency fund as well.
“I think that we’ve done great on trying to get some savings back into the fund, and obviously that’s our main goal so we can build the contingency back up and have something the do with this plaza and fix that parking lot up, and do things that we originally intended to do.” Mitchell said.
• There were several changes discussed that will result in additional costs to the board. Bopp said during Tuesday’s meeting that gas piping modifications will have to be made after Somerset Gas reportedly notified those involved with the project that the size of the piping going in and out of the building will need to be changed.
Bopp explained pipe size calculations are dependent on pressure criteria for the pipe. Bopp said the city had first said the pipe would hold seven pounds of pressure, but that has been taken down to only three pounds, which requires a different pipe size, carrying with it a price tag of $11,761.75.
Local attorney John Prather voiced some concern over the change.
“To us, it sounds like they’re changing the rules,” Prather said.
Burdette agreed.
“If they told us wrong, normally you’d hear from the responsible entities, which they’ve proven to do that, say ‘Yeah, that’s our baby, let us fix it,’ or ‘Let us increase the pressure on this end, or maybe we were wrong,’” Burdette said. “ ... I feel like there’s room to talk to them about it.”
AOC representative Vance Mitchell agreed that a sit-down with the city about the change may be beneficial, and he also noted it would have to happen quickly in order to avoid delays.
Bopp also asked that the board approve electrical modifications in the Pulaski Court of Justice building, noting that the doors in the front entrance of the facility will need to be modified to operate automatically to allow for handicapped access. No electric provisions were shown on the original construction plans, according to Bopp. Those changes, along with several other modifications electric in nature, will cost around $6,651.60.
“I hate to see these kinds of modifications,” Burdette said Tuesday. “I don’t know how we could’ve gotten by without having handicapped-accessible doors in the front three doors.
“It’s more embarrassing than anything,” he added.
Another significant change involves ceiling modifications in circuit courtroom B to accommodate duct work. Bopp said that room’s ceiling — which has already been partially built — was scheduled to be constructed higher than the other courtrooms. Those specifications leave inadequate room for duct work, and will require that the ceiling be lowered for around $3,621.35, Bopp said.
“Those courtrooms are supposed to be as close to identical as possible,” Burdette said. “How did we get one with a higher ceiling than the other?”
Bopp responded that the third floor windows have arches, requiring higher ceilings, but the windows on the second floor do not.
“Do we ever get to a place where the architect may say ‘Well, that’s our mistake, we miscalculated on the archway, we put the ceiling up to high so we’re going to eat that because it was our mistake,’ or do we just go through it and recognize it was an architectural mistake and we’re going to pay for it?” Burdette asked.
Mitchell expressed some frustration later in the meeting about the change orders, and he asked that questions be asked and answered before construction is done in a specific area of the facility that may have to be torn back out to make way for modifications.
“I can’t handle anymore change orders like that,” Mitchell said, adding that he hates to see “good work torn out.”
• Discussions turned in the meeting toward one of the more controversial parts of the project: The lower parking lot, slated to be built where the city’s old tennis courts now stand. The City of Somerset donated the site to the county before construction on the Pulaski Court of Justice began, but the board has yet to go forward with any construction on the site.
On Tuesday, the board discussed the lot’s retaining wall situations. Bopp said an 18-foot retainer wall will be required on the site due to the soil conditions there.
“We’re calling it the monster wall right now.” Bopp said. The wall will need to placed six feet lower into the ground than first thought due to the instability of the soil at the site — which borders a sinkhole that has been a subject of concern by the board for several months.
Other alternatives were also discussed that may be cheaper, including back-fill, but no solutions were reached during the meeting.
Burdette asked that the board pass a motion reiterating its commitment to transforming the tennis court site into a parking lot. Prather seconded that motion, and the request was granted.
• Mitchell asked construction supervisor Tony Stevens to begin work on a 60-day out plan for use by the AOC when construction on the facility nears an end, noting that the move from the old courthouse to the new facility will be a complicated one that requires detailed planning.
