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Learn More About Proposed Tax, New Santa Rosa Judicial Center At Jay Meeting
September 29, 2014
Residents in northern Santa Rosa County will have the chance Tuesday to learn more about a possible new judicial center.
On the November general election ballot voters in Santa Rosa County will have the opportunity to decide if a proposed countywide one cent local option sales tax should be adopted to fund a new judicial center and if approved, where the new facility will be located through four ballot measures.
A public meeting will he held Tuesday night at 6:00 at the Jay Community Center at 5259 Booker Street.
The current Santa Rosa County Courthouse is located in downtown Milton. Built in 1927, the building size is no longer sufficient for all the necessary courthouse functions and the design of the building creates security issues for the public and staff. The parking, heating and cooling system, and telephone and computer network infrastructure are also no longer adequate for daily operations. Officials say a new facility that can serve the county today, and up to 75 years in the future, is needed.
Voters will be asked if they support a one percent local option sales tax for five years. Often referred to as a “one cent”sales tax, it would increase sales tax by one percent. If approved, the sales tax will be limited to five years.
Voters will also have the opportunity to voice their preference for where a possible new judicial facility should be built. In three non-binding referendum items, voters have the option of voting yes or no for each of the three possible locations for a new facility:
- approximately seven acres next to the current courthouse in downtown Milton
- In excess of 15 acres on U.S. Highway 90 southwest of the Peter Prince Airport
- 22.46 acres on Hwy. 90 in Pea Ridge.
Comments
7 Responses to “Learn More About Proposed Tax, New Santa Rosa Judicial Center At Jay Meeting”
Downtown is not an option for the Court House Site. No Parking too much congestion and hopefully one day downtown will be thriving with commerce. Get away from downtown and get some room to breathe!
why waste money on buiding anything? with computer technology, everything will be online before too much longer..
I think the courthouse should stay downtown where it has always been.
I believe the option in East Milton would be the best. The county already owns the land and it would be close to the jail. Moving it up onto Highway 90 would be more congestion on that over loaded road and would mean another traffic light. Leaving it where it is would only fuel the need for a new facility in a few years. Traffic there is already bad and there is no parking. I can’t see them over bulldozing any of those vacant buildings to 4 lane. East Milton is the best option by far.
I agree that the current courthouse location should never have been considered. The parking will never be adequate, the congestion downtown will be miserable, and it will not result in a facility that is envisioned for the next 75 years. It may be better than putting a “Band-Aid” on the problem, but doesn’t solve it.
East Milton probably should never have been considered either. The county commissioners asked for (paid) a consultant to select the general area that would best serve the county. The intersection of Avalon and Hwy 90 was considered the most central and accessible point – not East Milton, where major road improvements and other infrastructure will need to be in place prior to construction.
The overall economic benefits of the Pea Ridge site seem to be obvious. The opportunities for office, restaurants, and retail near the new courthouse won’t/can’t happen at either of the other two locations. If it is found that the road is inadequate(I heard that it was fine for the foreseeable future), then address it. You would have the same issues if/when any other project is planned on that same site.
The Pea Ridge site was selected by the BOCC as the preferred site after a well founded and extensive site search that got side tracked by special interest groups promoting their own agendas. It is not in the County’s best interest to let the opinions of a vocal minority pursuade the selection that was made originally. The Pea Ridge site is centrally located to serve all of the County’s needs and it affords the best options for future expansion of the facilities. It is the only logical selection.
The current location of the courthouse should never have been considered. The bottleneck that downtown is would/does need to be widened to four lanes. To do this, some of the rat dens would need to be torn down but the locals won’t to preserve them. Also, as it is now, there is very little parking available.The 22.46 acres in Pea Ridge is located on a over loaded highway. Several miles from the county jail but prisoners will have to be transported thru the city at a very high cost of labor and materials, like cars, gas, manpower, ect.. The 15+ acres in East Milton is by far the best location for a new courthouse. Its near the jail, has plenty of room for parking, everything that is needed for a new building.