Figueroa Courthouse project delayed
The Santa Barbara County Figueroa Courthouse construction project is delayed along with 10 other courthouses in the state.
The Judicial Council said unless funding is available, plans won’t start up again for another year.
The Santa Barbara plan includes eight courtrooms. The project is in the architectural design phase but it’s halted until the 2014-2015 fiscal year.
But the council agreed to request funding from the Department of Finance anyway, just in case funding becomes available this upcoming fiscal year, but chances for that are slim.
“We’re disappointed about that, but we are still very optimistic that in the following year it may well be restored and we can go forward into the next phase. Frankly, we’re looking at a one year delay,” said Gary Blair, superior court executive officer.
The money for the projects is coming from court user fees. Those fees were originally designated by the legislature to be set aside for court construction. However, some of those funds have been transferred to the state general fund and redirected to court operations.
