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Tehama County gets new courthouse, but Shasta's still in limbo
Joe Szydlowski
Redding Record Searchlight
Greg Barnette/Record Searchlight People tour the new Tehama County Courthouse in Red Bluff on Thursday.
After nearly a decade of budget cuts and other woes, Tehama County finally has its new, $35 million courthouse.
The new Tehama County Superior Court of California facility at 1740 Walnut St. will house all court personnel. Until recently, judges, staff and other court employees were spread across four buildings in downtown Red Bluff, Todd Bottke, its presiding judge, said during the dedication ceremony.
The project, which cost $56 million with land, design and other costs added to the $35 million construction costs, encountered few problems despite a 28 percent reduction in its budget by the state, Bottke said.
'I have only 10 words: On time, on budget and outstanding job by all involved,' he said.
And it may be the North State's last one for some time. In August, the state's California Court Facilities Advisory Committee in August froze 41 courthouse projects statewide, including in Shasta County. That facility, estimated to cost $165 million, originally was planned to move forward in March 2017 with bond sales, said Melissa Fowler-Bradley, Shasta County Superior Court executive officer.
But the state court's account doesn't have enough money in it because its revenue, once $320 million derived from fines and fees, has dwindled, in part due to the state redirecting much of it.
'It's a little over $100 million short of what it needs to be,' she said.
Legislators who represent Tehama county, State Sen. Jim Nielsen (R-4th) and Assemblyman James Gallagher (R-3rd), both said they're aware of the need for new courthouses after the dedication ceremony Thursday.
But they're not too optimistic about them in the short-term.
'I consider that an uphill battle and I feel myself in a lonely position,' said Nielsen, vice chair of the State Senate's Budget and Fiscal Review Committee and a member of its appropriations committee. He doesn't foresee any more major cuts in the near future for the construction account. But additional funding seems murky as well.
It features a range of digital-age equipment that allows video, audio and photos to be displayed in court from a connected tablet, he said. It also is fully accessible for those with disabilities, he said.
Tehama County's new courthouse received the highest priority funding because of major security concerns at the old one, which was spread across four facilities near Pine and Washington streets, Bottke said.
Some of those facilities didn't have metal detectors and X-ray machines to screen for weapons, said Gregg Cohen, Tehama County's District Attorney.
In addition, defendants in custody sat in the jury boxes for hearings leading up to their trial, he said.
'In-custody defendants were seated in the jury box 5 to 6 feet away from my prosecutors,' he said, adding he hasn't had an incident yet.
The new courthouse has a room behind bulletproof glass and a secure, second set of hallways and elevators for those in custody, Bottke said.
Jail inmates will be transported there from the county jail, Tehama County Sheriff Dave Hencratt said. He didn't know the estimated costs when asked at the dedication ceremony, but he said he's adding four personnel to handle the in-custody defendants.
The new courthouse will open for business on Monday.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article gave an incorrect figure for the courthouse's construction costs. It should have said the new courthouse cost $35 million to construct. The error has since been fixed.
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