Administration & Courts Facility to Undergo Redesign in Atrium
Commissioners directed staff to proceed with a plan to relocate and expand the security stations in the atrium of the Jefferson County Administration & Courts Facility to accommodate the relocation of court support functions, including Victim Witness, Pre-Trial and CASA from the court side of the building to administration side on the first floor. 
 
In 2011, the county is anticipating that the Administration & Courts Facility will begin housing three new judicial positions - two in district court and one in county court. The courts side of the building currently houses 30 judicial positions and 28 courtrooms. Each new position comes with additional personnel, including clerks, district attorneys, victim-witness representatives, case managers and court security deputies. To accommodate the additional growth and three new courtrooms, some groups will relocate from the courts side (north side) of the Admin & Courts Facility to the admin side (south side) on the first floor, requiring security stations to cover both sides of the first floor. Only the courts side of the building requires visitors to pass through a security station at this time.
 
Under the new design, people going to the second through fifth floors and the cafeteria in the basement of the admin side will be able to go directly to the elevators without going through security screening. Areas that will not require security screening include the County Administrator's office, County Clerk's Office, Motor Vehicle, Recording, Assessor's Office, Treasurer's Office, Public Trustee, Community Development, Building, Transportation & Engineering, and Planning & Zoning.
 
People going to the courts side of the building and anywhere on the first floors of both sides will be required to enter one of three security stations that will be located along the atrium's large windows facing west. The redesign includes space to add an additional station in the future. Entry into the stairwells will require building badges.
 
In addition to security changes, the Public Information desk will be relocated to the north side in the atrium, and an information computer kiosk may be located just inside the main entrance.
 
Fentress Architects, of Denver, the original architect of the Admin & Courts Facility, conducted the atrium's redesign. Construction is expected to begin early this summer and be completed in about two months. The estimated total cost of the security enhancements and atrium remodel, except for the computer kiosk, is $491,000 and is included in the court expansion budget.