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topicnews · September 9, 2024

New million courthouse up for election in Dallas County

New $57 million courthouse up for election in Dallas County

Dallas County voters will decide in November whether to approve the construction of a nearly $57 million criminal courthouse to keep pace with the county’s nation-leading growth.

The Dallas County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Aug. 27 to put the question of whether the county should issue bonds to finance the new facility on the Nov. 5 general election ballot. The 78,000-square-foot, three-story, $56.9 million building would be built next to the Dallas County Law Enforcement Center on U.S. 6, east of Adel.

At the same meeting, the Board of Supervisors approved the final payment for the exterior renovation of the current courthouse at 801 Court Street in Adel, including restoration of the dome, bell tower and brickwork, according to meeting minutes.

However, that does not solve the venerable building’s space problem. A press release from the district on Friday stated: “With a 40% overall increase in all types of cases over the past 10 years and a population growth of nearly 45% over the same period, the historic courthouse, built more than 120 years ago, does not have sufficient courtroom capacity to handle the large number of cases.”

“Courtrooms are in short supply, which often results in delays in scheduling trials/hearings or taxpayer dollars being spent to transfer cases to neighboring counties. A new criminal court building would alleviate these delays by providing six courtrooms specifically for criminal and juvenile court cases, and would also create space for other civil courts to be consolidated into one location, resulting in more efficient operations,” the press release continued.

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Officials are also concerned about the courthouse’s current shared entrance for the public and prisoners in criminal proceedings. The new building would have a separate, secure entrance for those defendants.

County Board Chairman Brad Golightly said in the release that the proposal for a new courthouse was “the result of years of discussions with 5th Judicial District staff and local judges, as well as our county sheriff and district attorney. The new building will be designed to be expandable for future growth and to accommodate future technology needs.”

How much would a new courthouse cost Dallas County taxpayers?

Authorities estimate that homeowners under 65 who own a $100,000 home would pay $18.56 per year. Homeowners over 65 who qualify for a property tax exemption would pay $15.65 per year.

The tax increase for agricultural land would be about 52 cents per acre.

A county fact sheet states that delaying construction of a new courthouse would “result in significant cost increases estimated at 3 to 5 percent ($1.7 to $2.8 million) per year at the rate of inflation.”

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Which district and court offices would be located where?

The existing historic courthouse would be retained for civil, civil litigation, family law, divorce and foreclosure proceedings.

In addition to criminal proceedings, the new courthouse would also house the offices of the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office, juvenile courts, the Department of Corrections’ probation staff, the Clerk of Court’s Criminal Division, and officers from the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office.

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The county auditor’s office would move entirely to 902 Court Street, “eliminating election-related space concerns, particularly with regard to early voting space,” the county’s press release said.

The county is already building a 54,000-square-foot, two-story administration building at the corner of Court Street and Nile Kinnick Drive South — on the north side of Adel Square — at the site of the former Dallas County Sheriff’s Office. That building will house the offices of the county assessor, treasurer, recorder and board of supervisors, among others.

For more information from the county on the proposed courthouse, visit dallascountyiowa.gov/2024bond.

Phillip Sitter covers the western suburbs for the Des Moines Register. He can be reached via email at [email protected] or X at @pslifeisabeauty.

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