New justice center, fairground move plans celebrated

In 2011 the soil at the Porterville Fairgrounds will turn for the construction of a $93.3 million, environmental friendly, heavily landscaped South County Justice Center.

With excitement and praise for the spirit of cooperation funneled into the much anticipated new courthouse and the joint relocation of the Porterville Fair, California law makers and local dignitaries convened at the 62-year-old fair site at Olive Avenue on Friday afternoon to commemorate the historic project that is expected to revitalize downtown and usher in hundreds of jobs.

“This is a 21st Century building that should long outlast our life times,” architect Dennis McFadden said. “We want to design a building very specific to Porterville ... so the building couldn’t exist anywhere else.”

In 2006, the state labeled the Porterville Courthouse as a “high priority” capital project for its judicial branch based on security, overcrowding, and physical conditions, and the need for additional new judgeships. Three years later, on Aug. 18, the City Council voted to sell the 7.4 acre fairground site for $2 million to the California Administrative Office of the Courts, the staff agency for judges that has policy-making authority. The office has labeled the current three-courtroom building at Morton Avenue and Third Street “functionally deficient.”

“This a day we have waited a long time for,” State Senator Roy Ashburn said. “Porterville has a reputation for having some spirited people, with differing opinions, so when you think about the cooperation ... a whole new history can be rewritten.”

McFadden, of Los Angeles based CO Architects, outlined some of the design features that will punctuate the nine courtroom facility, including a courtyard, a green roof that will serve as the “visual foreground” for the jury assembly room, naturally lighted courtrooms, and a large covered porch facing Olive Avenue. There are also plans to incorporate environmentally friendly tools such as using recycled materials and recycling water for irrigation.

“This will be a great place to work, a great place that brings dignity to anyone who interacts with the justice system,” he said.

Upon completion in 2013, the new justice center is expected to alleviate problems with the current location, including overcrowding and poor security. The new 95,000-square-foot facility will include 326 on-site parking spaces for staff and visitors, including a secure sally port for inmate transport.

Beyond the approximate 25 staff assigned to the current Porterville courthouse, the Administrative Office of the Court estimates more than 100 additional staff will support the new facility. Tulare County will locate court-affiliated facilities and staff close to the new courthouse, as will private attorneys and other legal-related entities.

“This is the foundation for the revitalization of downtown Porterville,” Mayor Pete McCracken said. “I’m really happy there’s going to be more businesses in town.”

It will also replace the one courtroom from the Tulare-Pixley court, and will handle all types of cases except for juvenile ones, according to Judge Glade Roper.

Having served 20 years on the bench in Tulare County, Roper said “no one is happier than I am to have this facility.”

“The burden on this courthouse has been tremendous,” he said. “Yesterday 843 people walked through the doors and $56,217 was collected.”

But building a justice center also involves relocating the Porterville Fairgrounds to a 10 acre plot near the municipal airport — potentially transforming it into a 365-day fairplex. The $2 million the state paid for the property on Olive Avenue will be transferred to the fair board to cover some relocation costs.

“It’s not easy to move the fairgrounds,” CEO John Corkins said. “But I think we’ll have the premier fair site in California. This is probably the most substantial project the community has ever seen.”

There are plans to launch a fundraising campaign to collect the millions of other dollars necessary to construct barns, food booths and a carnival area. Graphic renderings that provide a glimpse as to what the new fair will look like, show many of the same style of structures painted maroon with white trim.

“This is a wonderful example, even though it took a while, of public and private cooperation,” Assemblywoman Connie Conway said.

Contact Jenna Chandler at 784-5000, Ext. 1050, or jchandler@portervillerecorder.com.