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County: Facilities must be upgraded to handle future growth

Bethany Fuller | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | Feb. 24, 2008

Iredell County commissioners reviewed some of the plans for the county’s long-range facility plans to accommodate growth.
The board has been discussing expanding the Iredell County Hall of Justice and the jail for months.

On Saturday during the board’s annual retreat, Assistant County Manager Tracy Jackson supplied statistics that indicate the court’s caseload has been growing just as fast as the population.

The court facilities planning committee has been discussing a new facility.

Many courthouse employees indicated they prefer a design that expands the courthouse to the Hall of Justice annex, in which the Register of Deeds is housed.

Jackson said the employees voiced their hopes that courtrooms in the annex would become office space.

Commissioner Steve Johnson said it made sense to keep the annex because it is a structurally sound building.

The current design the county is considering would move the Iredell County Sheriff’s office closer to the jail and provide additional parking.

Jackson said a good approach to funding the project would be to build it in phases.

However, commissioners seemed skeptical the project could be completed a little at a time.

“It is going to be very difficult to take a bite out of that apple without eating the whole thing,” Johnson said.

Commissioners also revisited the idea of building a new animal control shelter.

Lynn S. Niblock, director of Code Enforcement and Special Projects, said a group recently visited a shelter in Florida that used a modular panel building design. If the county adopted the design, it could build a new shelter for $500,000 cheaper than originally projected, he said.

The proposed shelter would be on Bristol Road behind the Iredell County Agricultural Resource Center.

The front portion would be a typical office and waiting area, while the kennel would be a modular panel building designed by Houndquarter Kennel Systems.

The enclosed breezeway in between the modular building and the office area would be used for additional kennel space in case of emergency, to keep excess noise from the kennels to a minimum and rabies clinics.

County Finance Director Susan Blumenstein said the county could pay for the new animal shelter out of the capital reserve fund.

“At this point, we were just wanting to make sure the board was comfortable with where we were heading,” Niblock said.

Commissioners and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee were also able to reach a consensus for funding park construction projects. Commissioners agreed funding recreation was a necessity and they would gradually build up to it.

“I think our purpose here is to show we are very passionate about it,” said County Recreation director Robert Woody said.
During a presentation to the board, Iredell County Recreation Advisory Committee Chairman Roger McLelland said the county needed to put a comprehensive plan together.

He said one area the committee has failed in is educating the public and commissioners about the importance of recreation.

Johnson pointed out the proposed 2008-09 budget only increased by a little more than 2 percent and a good portion of that is expected to go to schools.

“If we increase the budget an average of 5 percent, we are $4 million in the hole,” he said. “We are spending money, folks, that we don’t have right now.”

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