Courthouse shuffle begins

The Plymouth County Supervisors took the first step Tuesday toward rearranging the courthouse to make more room for crowded offices.

The main push was to make more room for the cramped Juvenile Court Services.

The supervisors approved moving the Veterans Affairs office, currently on the main floor of the courthouse in the northeast corner, to the lower level. There that office will share the space with the Zoning and Sanitation offices, which are only used one day a week.

The Veteran's Affairs office is used twice a week: 12-4 p.m. Tuesdays and 8 a.m. to noon Thursdays.

However, an Iowa ruling is requiring that those hours be extended to a total of 20 hours as of next July.

Martin Balmer, director of the Plymouth County Veterans Affairs office, questioned how he would keep meetings with veterans confidential if someone involved in zoning or sanitation walked through the office.

"I really don't like the idea, but I guess I'll do whatever you people decide," Balmer said.

"Martin's concerns of privacy are quite legitimate," Supervisor Don Kass said. "If there is some type of cubicle walls that will help you, I want you to come to us and say, 'Look, I need X, Y or Z.'"

They also discussed shifting Balmer's office hours, but made no final decision on whether a change in days or hours of operation is needed.

Ultimately the supervisors decided to approve the Veterans Affairs move with a completion deadline of the end of 2008.

Also regarding courthouse space, the supervisors discussed moving Plymouth County Economic Development Director Gary Tucker's office out of the courthouse.

Tucker said he was starting to check into off-site office space in the range of $350 per month.

Difficulties with this move, Tucker pointed out, are that he usually uses the county's computer server, e-mail system and copy machines, all with access in the courthouse.

"We've all said that everybody is here at the courthouse for a reason," Supervisor Craig Anderson said. "There really aren't any peripheral offices. Everybody's here for a reason."

Tucker did note that he usually meets outside of the courthouse with business and industry developers who are looking at locating or expanding in the county.

"People don't like to traipse through a busy facility with a lot of people asking questions," he said.

The supervisors asked Tucker to continue seeking off-site office space. They tabled that decision for a few weeks.

The board also discussed freeing up more space by turning paper documents into electronic files, which means using a lot less storage space.

"Every piece of paper that has been generated has to find a place to sit, and that goes back 100 years," Anderson said.

County Attorney Darin Raymond said he had earlier talked with the District 3 Court Administrator Leesa McNeil about scanning court-related documents. At that time, Raymond said, McNeil offered financial assistance for the project.

He said he would check with her to see if that was still available.

"Insurance, banking, medical, they're all out of the paper business. We can do it," Supervisor Don Kass said.

Sheriff Mike Van Otterloo reminded the board that eliminating stacks of paper wouldn't necessarily solve the space crunch.

"After five years what do we have? Vault space. We'll still need people space," he said.

The board discussed getting proposals on scanning documents and shifting offices in before early 2009 so they can fit any projects into the upcoming budget.