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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Jamie Curtis disputed media report that a consolidation of the county district courts was imminent. The only Memorandum of Understanding on the table is the consolidation of the city and county district courts, said Curtis.
A novel concept that Curtis has hinted at for the last 5 to 7 years is his dream of a Genesee County and Flint Government "One stop" government building. His goal is for all government offices to b located in one downtown location. Many communities already have such complexes and Curtis has visited some to gain insight in how to coordinate his vision.
The "devil's advocate" view is that the downtown area lacks available land to realize this goal. Others point to the past construction of both the Flint City Hall and the current jail on toxic sites that were once landfills. I was informed the jail site required approximately $900,000 in remediation and had test wells to monitor until recently.
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Thu Apr 23, 2015 1:49 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Thu Apr 23, 2015 1:35 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Curtis plans to build up and not out to eliminate the need for large land tracts. There is talk of a five story building. An invitation has been made to Flint to be part of the plan. A Metropolitan government may be preferable to a previous Emergency Manager suggestion to absorb Flint into the county government.
Curtis is confident that he can develop the necessary financing and says many county unused buildings have been sold. Curtis states he has worked to eliminate the deficit and the county is moving in the right direction financially. |
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Thu Apr 23, 2015 1:48 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Since the downtown groups are nearly the only ones developing downtown is this relationship between Curtis and the Flint-Genesee County Chamber of Commerce. Could realizing the long term dream Curtis has for redeveloping downtown county offices be a sort of Qui pro quo ?
Is this a step toward higher political office? |
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Fri Apr 24, 2015 8:41 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Sun May 31, 2015 8:17 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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'Metroplex' government building proposed for all Genesee County, Flint offices
Blake Thorne | bthorne1@mlive.com
on May 31, 2015 at 5:50 AM, updated May 31, 2015 at 5:51 AM
FLINT, MI -- One new downtown building may one day house all Genesee County and Flint city offices as well as all districts courts in a structure that's dubbed the "Metroplex."
Genesee County Board of Commissioners Chairman Jamie Curtis is gearing up discussions about building a new government building in downtown Flint. He and other officials say now is the right time for the project, which they maintain will save taxpayer money.
The project could be financed through municipal bonds "for the cost of what we're paying to run our old buildings," Curtis said.
"We're going forward with the Metroplex if the financing is doable," he said.
Curtis said he's formed a committee to explore the proposal. If projections show the project is feasible and would save money, Curtis said he intends to try to get financing arranged before 2016, when elections could potentially bring in a new crop of county commissioners.
"The real next steps are how big and how much," said County Controller Keith Francis.
Initial projections are that the building would take about two years to construct and cost from $30 million to $50 million, Curtis said. The new building would be built on county-owned land at South Saginaw Street and East Court Street, across the street from Genesee County Circuit Court.
Curtis said the project would include selling or eliminating several older buildings with high maintenance and utilities costs. Those buildings could include:
•The county's six district court locations
•The Floyd McCree Building in downtown Flint
•The Burton Health Center
•Gccard Headstart
•Flint City Hall
The county would save $6 million alone by not running the district courts in those out-county locations, Curtis said.
It's early to say exactly how large the new building would need to be, Curtis said, but the current county administration building is 110,000 square feet.
It would be up to Flint officials to decide if they would be on board with joining the plan. But Flint Mayor Dayne Walling said the city has been invited to the conversation and is willing to consider all options.
"I think it's responsible for the city to look at all available options, including repair and renovations of the current facility" or finding a new facility, Walling said.
Walling said officials have already identified a "number of high-cost critical repairs" needed at Flint City Hall, including updates to the heating and electrical system.
Genesee County Commissioner and former City Councilman Bryant Nolden said he's on board with the plan and he thinks the proposal could be a good one for the city.
Curtis said he intends to make sure all vacated buildings are either torn down or sold to new occupants.
"We're not going to vacate and leave blighted structures," he said.
The current county administration building, for example, would likely be demolished. Curtis added that there are already potential buyers interested in some of the other buildings.
The Genesee County Circuit Court would be unchanged, as would Flint police and fire operations.
Francis pointed out that interest rates for municipal projects are ideal right now, and Genesee County is enjoying a healthy AA credit rating after years of a lower rating. |
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Sun May 31, 2015 8:24 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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"Curtis said the project would include selling or eliminating several older buildings with high maintenance and utilities costs. Those buildings could include:
•The county's six district court locations
•The Floyd McCree Building in downtown Flint
•The Burton Health Center
•Gccard Headstart
•Flint City Hall
The county would save $6 million alone by not running the district courts in those out-county locations, Curtis said. "
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Interesting twist. In the White Horse Curtis was adamant on how the media reports of bringing the county district courts downtown was false.
lawyers keep commenting on how the state law would have to be amended in order to bring this consolidation to fruition. |
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Sun May 31, 2015 8:28 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Is this push to form a committee a means to deflect attention from the recent bid process that would have given the procurement contract to Phil Shaltz again . Ted henry predicted this move when he opposed the no bid $100,000 contract or Shaltz's company last year. Henry was critical when he noted Shaltz could end up bidding for the very proposal he would be researching and he was right.
Also Citizens Against Government Overreach and Ethics Watch are reviewing campaign Finance records. They have already filed a complaint that was forwarded to he state. |
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Sun May 31, 2015 8:45 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Page 10 of the 2014 Audit discusses the JCI Energy Efficiency Project. In 2010 the county issued $7.8 QECB (Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds) in order to finance extensive infrastructure improvements in Genesee County buildings. This project s expected to yield a minimum energy savings of 20% and would streamline county operations and result in an additional $6 million in operational cost reductions. It is anticipated the project would generate $2 million in savings above the cost of the project. "Cost savings will continue, including significant Capital improvements to Genesee County buildings, telephone and data network enhancements."
Payments are $340,000 per year and th September 30,2014 balance was $7,175,784.
Since the repayment is many years out, is it wise to sell these buildings and generate more debt on a new building? |
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Thu Jul 02, 2015 8:33 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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http://www.tctimes.com/news/local_news/court-not-moving-anytime-soon/article_be8fdade-273f-11e5-bd36-9ffa1b5a44b9.html
Tri-County Times Newspaper: Local News for Fenton, Linden and Holly MI
Court not moving anytime soon
Judge says ‘technology’ will drive a move in future
Posted: Friday, July 10, 2015 4:10 pm
Vera Hogan Staff Reporter | 0 comments
It doesn’t look like the Genesee County 67th District Court in Fenton is going to close — at least for a couple of years.
County Commissioner Tony Brown and Circuit Court Judge Richard Yuille attended the Fenton City Council work session last month to address the court consolidation issue. They were accompanied by Jamie Curtis and Mike Lynch of the Genesee County Board of Commissioners.
According to the minutes of that meeting, Brown said the votes do not exist on the current Board of Commissioners to close the Fenton court, but could not speak to action future boards might take.
Yuille told council members there would come a point in time when technology will drive the closure of the out-county courts. He said technology would allow tasks to be completed that now have to be done in person, and some of that technology exists now.
Mayor Sue Osborn expressed concerns over citizens having to drive to downtown Flint to take care of business now handled in the local Fenton court.
Yuille said there is an option to pay tickets via a kiosk that can be placed at Fenton City Hall or some other location to be determined. He said he anticipates asking for a space locally to handle small claims cases one day a month instead of handling those cases in downtown Flint.
Osborn also expressed a concern about sending Fenton officers to Flint.
Curtis said felony cases are heard in Central Court in downtown Flint, but tickets are not handled by a district court judge, but by a magistrate.
“A lot of the issue is getting people to understand how the courts work and once that’s understood, a lot of the fear about consolidation goes away,” Curtis said.
Curtis, who has served as chairman of the Board of Commissioners since 2010, gave an overview of the county’s financial picture and plans to address them, including taking buildings off line, selling buildings, consolidating services, etc.
He said the county eventually plans to take four buildings offline and build a metroplex that would be a one-stop shop for county services.
“A 10-year financial plan was created and efforts are being made to control fixed costs, and the proposed metroplex can be completed for the costs of taking older buildings offline,” he told the council.
Curtis said future generations will have the ability to close the courts, but it would only be done if necessary. He said the metroplex would be able to accommodate future closures, should they happen.
Yuille briefly recapped how the matter of consolidating the courts came up in the first place. He said the Supreme Court, every few years, surveys the workload of various courts. The Supreme Court suggested merging the Flint and county Circuit Courts and that suggestion was approved by the legislature, Board of Commissioners and Flint City Council.
Councilwoman Cheryl King referenced the closure of the Secretary of State’s office in Fenton a few years ago and said she feels that being in the southern end of the county the city of Fenton is forgotten. She said not all residents have computers or access to modern technology.
According to Curtis, bonding for the new metroplex will go out within the next 18 months and the building will probably take two years to build. |
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Mon Jul 20, 2015 3:11 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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| "According to Curtis, bonding for the new metroplex will go out within the next 18 months and the building will probably take two years to build." |
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Mon Jul 20, 2015 3:16 am |
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