It will still be several months before Marshall County residents can walk the halls of the historic building, but planning is well underway to get everything fixed up and initiate new layout ideas such as the single public entrance.

Many of the changes are being paid for with insurance due to tornado damage, but there will be some new features in the courthouse once all is said and done. One will be the entryway on the south side of the building, with the horseshoe-shaped parking area.

“Our plan all along has been single entry,” said Marshall County Supervisor Bill Patten at Wednesday’s special board meeting on the courthouse layout.

Officials from OPN Architects were at the meeting to discuss updates to a general layout plan set forth in May.

T-R PHOTO BY ADAM SODDERS – Jimi Peters of OPN Architects, left, updates the Marshall County Board of Supervisors on the county courthouse layout. Also pictured, from right, are board Vice Chairman Dave Thompson, board Chairman Steve Salasek and board member Bill Patten.

Jimi Peters of OPN said one area the board could consider changes to was the south side entrance. The May 1 layout had a relatively narrow entryway for people going in and out of the building, and Peters suggested moving an elevator equipment room and making other space changes to widen the entryway.

“Having this gone, you’re going to be able to build out the center of this with a secured single point of entry and circulate around it. It’s going to make a lot more sense,” he said. “It just gives a you a lot more balance.”

Marshall County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Ben Veren was at Wednesday’s meeting and said he supported the idea of having more entryway space to better control courthouse access.

“I would really like to see that happen because we’ve made a commitment to continually improve our courthouse security,” Thompson said of the architect’s suggestion. “To me, this one’s a no-brainer.”

Peters quoted the extra work of widening the space at about $54,000, but said the cost to the county may come in lower than that because of insurance.

The board approved the space change unanimously.

Judicial space

Restrooms for the two jury deliberation rooms on the fourth floor of the courthouse could also see changes.

Initially, the layout had a single unisex restroom for use by both jury deliberation rooms. However, Peters said court attendant suggestions led to a different idea.

“One of the changes they asked for was ‘Can we get two restrooms in here?'” he said.

Peters said the reason the attendants wanted the two restrooms was to aid in a speedy trial process and to keep proceedings running smoothly.

To adapt to the suggestion, the architects fit two separate restrooms into the same space as the single restroom was initially placed. One jury deliberation room, the one used the vast majority of the time, would have direct access to one of the restrooms.

The second jury room, which would only be used in the case that two separate case deliberations occur at the same time, would go to the other restroom.

“It’s your cost as well, so this wouldn’t fall under insurance,” Peters said to the supervisors. “This is $40,000 or $50,000 to add a second restroom up here and work the way court attendants are telling us is the best process.”

While the jury deliberations and other court proceedings are under state court jurisdiction, the county owns the entire courthouse, so layout decisions – and any county taxpayer costs – ultimately fall to the board of supervisors.

District court Judge John Haney attended Wednesday’s meeting and gave input on the restroom discussion. He said any restroom placements should keep jurors separate from people in the courts, litigants and others to avoid the risk of a mistrial.

The board made no final decision on the jury deliberation restroom placements Wednesday, and a decision is expected at the July 9 regular board meeting.

Haney also shared his dissatisfaction with the proposed courtroom layout.

“We told you we needed six courtrooms. We got moved to five and now we’re at four. It’s not suitable for our current workload to function with four courtrooms and it’s going to cause a huge problem for our juvenile court especially,” Haney said.

The courthouse layout discussed Wednesday included four courtrooms while discussions on layout earlier this year had five in mind. There is a fifth courtroom space that has been used at the Marshall County Jail about 10 miles west of Marshalltown.

Haney also said he appreciated the discussion about courthouse security and the single entryway idea.

“I think that’s going to benefit everybody in the courthouse and I’m really proud of you guys for making those efforts and continuing those efforts,” he said.

New-look board room

The supervisors also got a look at what their new meeting room may look like when the courthouse reopens.

One major difference will be the board table. Previously, the three supervisors sat at a long, straight table at the front of the meeting room. The new design has the board sitting in a curve, with the supervisors visually raised slightly above the wing seats.

“This is a five-person dais. So it would be three supervisors in the middle, whoever is taking minutes and then another person if they were doing a presentation,” said county Buildings and Grounds Director Lucas Baedke.

The new layout also plans for a lectern for guests to address the room, as well as the possibility of a large screen behind the dais for meeting visitors to view presentations.

As currently laid out, the room would accommodate about 30 visitors, and county officials said chairs could be moved in if more seating were needed.

Other county department offices, from the auditor and recorder to treasurer, are also being planned, drawn and redrawn. Peters said now that design and development of the layout is done, the next step is a sit-down meeting with county and OPN officials, as well as contractors, to go over the layout and make any suggestions.

He said construction document work will take about eight weeks. Bids for work are expected in September.

Most recently, county officials have estimated the courthouse will be ready to accept visitors next spring. If that is the case, it will have been more than a year-and-a-half since the courthouse was open to the general public.

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

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