Annex will centralize operations, cut costs
In an effort to centralize operations and cut costs, St. Charles Parish District Attorney Joel Chaisson II has asked the parish government for a $2.6 million annex.
“We’re spread out all over the parish,” said Chaisson, calling the annex “the most important thing facing my office today.” He also called the project “an investment in the future” that would “allow my staff to operate in a more professional way.”
DA services have been so cramped in the courthouse that eight assistant district attorneys share three offices, requiring two leave so an assistant DA can meet with witnesses. Two ADAs don’t have offices. Investigator offices have open space near the ceiling raising privacy concerns about sensitive information on investigations.
“We need a better way to do business,” Chaisson said, who expressed gratitude for parish support of services but asked for help with the annex.
Calling the annex “a no brainer,” he said it would cut monthly expenses of about $10,000 in rent, utilities and maintenance of two satellite locations on River Road (child support, probation office and pre-trial intervention) and Paul Maillard Road (worthless checks and victim assistance).Chaisson formally made the annex request at the parish council’s Oct. 27 budget hearing, one of three held for the parish’s proposed $77 million budget for 2016.
His proposal calls for a $2.6 million annex that would be built behind the parish courthouse in Destrehan on about 5,000 square feet of parish-owned property. The two-story building would connect to the courthouse by a walkway where the DA’s office is currently located.
Buddy Boe, parish chief administrative officer, said the council will adopt the parish budget, likely including the annex, next week at its Monday meeting.
The DA’s office will provide $700,000 toward the project with parish government making up the difference. The price tag also reflects about $1.2 million that Boe said would be saved over 10 years by eliminating the DA’s satellite offices.
Because the annex would be a government building, he said parish government would take the lead on the project. If approved, Boe said plans are to take bids by second quarter of next year and the annex occupied by mid-2017.“This will trigger the needed first- and second-floor renovations,” he said of courthouse modifications.
Chaisson said annex construction could begin by mid-summer and the building occupied within 12 months.
The DA’s office would retain its existing space (DA office, assistant district attorneys and administration) on the second floor of the courthouse and gain another 10,000 square feet with the annex. The office employs 50 people.
Boe added plans include the additional gain of parking and security fencing behind the courthouse.
According to Chaisson, annex talks began last year when the parish government announced reorganization plans for the courthouse.
He said he and the judges met with a planner who, based on discussions about needs, recommended the judicial courts expand on the second floor and the DA Office with an annex of about 10,000 square feet to centralize services.
“The annex would provide many more useful years out of the courthouse and postpone when a new facility must be built in the future,” Chaisson said of the parish outgrowing the courthouse. “It’s a very inexpensive alternative to extend the usefulness of this courthouse.”
In recent years, other parish services have relocated in or out of the courthouse for added space. The parish EOC, and Planning and Zoning Department relocated in neighboring buildings. The parish government has moved to the once vacant third floor of the courthouse, which once housed the parish jail.
Boe said the parish recently completed the third-floor renovation of the courthouse.
lans also call for renovating the second floor for the courts, including a possible additional courtroom, in 2016, he said. The first floor will provide additional space to the clerk of courts and tax assessor’s offices, possibly by 2017.
These renovations and modifications are intended to lend another 30 to 40 years of life to the courthouse, which was built about 40 years ago, Boe said.
The DA annex would contribute to this effort, he added. The overall courthouse work will be done as funds are available, he said, but the DA annex is doable next year based on projected 2016 revenue.
Chaisson said his office would decide the annex interior layout for optimal work space while the façade would be decided by the newly installed council and parish president because it would be a parish building.
According to the parish district attorney, “This new layout will let us better serve the public.”
Be the first to comment