The discussion happened at a special county supervisors meeting Wednesday and stemmed from plans to remodel the courthouse after it was dealt serious damage by the July 19 tornado.

“We’ve got to get down to the rooms and the doors and work that out,” said supervisor Bill Patten.

No final commitment was made on the issue Wednesday as the board voted to table the decision on a basic court system space configuration. Dozens of judiciary and legal officials came to the meeting to air grievances with the planning process so far. The major complaint was that the two layout plans presented by the county were not adequate for the court system to serve the public, including lack of space as well as security and privacy concerns.

“Our space and resources were stretched before the tornado,” said District Court Judge John Haney. “We did not believe that the plans that you put forward were suitable and adequate for us to do our job currently, let alone in the future.”

T-R PHOTO BY ADAM SODDERS - The Marshall County Board of Supervisors tabled a final decision on a space layout for the judicial area of the Marshall County Courthouse at a special meeting Wednesday while the county and judiciary figure out a compromise for the space. Pictured from left are supervisors Dave Thompson, Steve Salasek and Bill Patten.

One of the plans would see four courtrooms on the courthouse’s fourth and fifth floors, and would include a multipurpose room that could act as a spare courtroom, a conference room or another needed space.

The second plan would see five courtrooms on the fourth and fifth floor, but they would be smaller and there would be fewer conference rooms and office space for court staff.

Haney said the fourth and fifth floors could only accommodate four courtrooms at most.

Attorney Laura Eilers said she saw too few private spaces to consult with clients in the county’s plans.

“The problem with scheduling conference rooms is you don’t always know when you’re going to need them,” she said. “Pretty much every time I go to the courthouse, you need a conference room to maintain confidentiality with the client.”

T-R PHOTO BY ADAM SODDERS - Dozens of attorneys, court staff and judges gather at Wednesday’s supervisors meeting.

District Court Judge James Ellefson said the courts are only going to get busier as time goes on.

“I can tell you with absolute certainty that the dockets are going to increase,” he said. “I’m a Marshal County taxpayer, and it strikes me that I don’t want my public funds spent one more time for an interim solution … with the idea that we’re going to have to redo this in five or 10 years.”

Marshall County Buildings and Grounds Director Lucas Baedke, who has been working with architects on courthouse design and repair planning, said he has done his best thus far to plan the court system area.

He said he prefers the four-courtroom option with the multipurpose room. He said it allows for courtrooms to be larger and for more conference rooms.

The judicial and legal officials reiterated their concerns about privacy and security for staff based on the plans presented Wednesday.

Baedke said time is of the essence. He said he does not want to push back the courthouse repair schedule longer than necessary and that costs will add up the longer the process goes.

As the supervisors tabled the issue, Baedke said he would go to the architects with the concerns. He said he would present the the four-courtroom idea and ask architects to work in the input shared at Wednesday’s meeting.

Meanwhile, the supervisors and judiciary officials agreed that smaller meetings to discuss plans would work best. The supervisors will have the final say on the courthouse layout, including the areas occupied by the judicial branch, per Iowa Code.

Baedke said once a layout design is agreed to, individual items within the design can be moved around and tweaked. He said while the county has the final say, he wants continued input from the judicial system as the plan moves forward.

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Contact Adam Sodders at (641) 753-6611 or asodders@timesrepublican.com