3. Court facility imprvmnt grnt - Laserfiche WebLink

r CASS CDuNIY i /GOVERNMENT! . -*- : To: _¡From: L-______1111 Date: Subject: MEMO County Commissioners Bonnie Johnson October 22,2004 Court Facilities Improvement Grant Funds --------------------------------------------------------------------------- County Coordinator Bonnie ]t\hnson In the last legislative session, Cass County had a bill drafted and introduced that requested one million dollars of state funding to assist with the addition to the Cass County Courthouse. Our reason for the request was quite simple.. .if the State of North Dakota was utilizing more than half the county space in our Courthouse, shouldn't they also pay for a part of the associated costs of a new structure? The State Courts currently occupy all of second floor and third floor (north wing) of the Cass County Courthouse. In addition, the county provides parking, janitorial, utility and security services at no charge. The law (NDCC 11-10-20) requires the county to provide the courts with "a courtroom." As a result, there was discussion, and eventual passage of a bill that established the Court Facilities Improvement Advisory Committee (NDCC 27- 05.2-09 and 27-05.2-10) to make grants for all counties for court facilities improvement and maintenance projects. Commissioner Scott Wagner was a member of the committee.. .representing large counties.. .in the establishment of the fund rules and operational procedures. This week, all counties received a notice and application to request money from the fund. The fund balance is not huge, and 25% of the funds are restricted for use in counties below the 7,500 population threshold. I believe Cass County should seek funding from this source; however, I would seek direction from the board before completing the application. The county is required to provide a 25% local match. Several alternatives could be included, Le. planning funds for developing our proposed addition; maintenance items such as painting and carpet; window caulking and seal replacement; floor refinishing (wood and terrazzo), etc. We could also apply for funds to hold in our "building fund." I would ask the board to provide some direction on the amount of funding they wish to seek. This will be the first request from our county to this fund, and applications are due in December. SUGGESTED MOTION: ßnx 2806 Move to request ( dollars) for ( planninq/improvements/maintenance ) as 211 Ninth Street Snuth allowed under the court facilities grant application. Fargn, Nnrth Dakota 58108 701-241-5720 Fax; 70J-29ì-6020 K:\BJ\DISTCQURT FUNDING11-1-04.doc