SIMI VALLEY : Courthouse Costs to Exceed Estimate

The interior of the East County Courthouse in Simi Valley will cost Ventura County $600,000 more to build than originally estimated, officials said.

The estimated cost for the interior of the two-story, 76,800-square-foot building is now $7.8 million, about 8% higher than the original estimate of $7.2 million.

The shell of the building was completed last year within budget, at a cost of $2,560,767, Ventura County Public Works Agency Director Art Goulet said.

The interior is scheduled to be completed in December. It will cost more to build the interior of the building than estimated in part because plans for it were modified and there was a lack of communication between the architect and the county Public Works Agency, Goulet said.

“The engineer’s estimate was just totally wrong and way too low,” County Supervisor James R. Dougherty said. “We added a lot of things” to the project after the initial plans were completed, he said.

“Initially we were just planning on carrying out non-jury trials,” including civil and traffic court cases, said Goulet, who prepared a report on the project’s cost overruns for Dougherty.

However, there are so many court cases in the county that officials decided that the East County facility should be outfitted to hold jury trials as well, Goulet said. Jury boxes were added in three of the five courtrooms, as well as jury assembly and deliberation rooms with restroom facilities.

With a wider variety of cases being heard, plans for the court’s holding facility had to be modified to isolate juveniles and inmates who commit less serious crimes from hard-core criminals, the report states. Instead of two large rooms for men and women, Sheriff’s Department officials asked for two large and four small cells with security glass and doors.

Several other changes have been made in the interior building plans, including energy-saving lighting, heating and air-conditioning systems, Goulet said.

Goulet blames the architect, Rasmussen and Associates of Ventura, for failing to submit periodic cost statements. However, the Public Works Agency should have required the company to turn in such statements, Goulet said.

Dougherty secured funding in April for the project, even with cost overruns. After the Ventura County Taxpayers Assn. accused Dougherty and the Board of Supervisors of irresponsible spending on the project, the board approved the purchase of $300 seats for the courtrooms, instead of the $500 seats originally planned. The supervisors are considering the use of plastic laminates rather than more expensive wood for cabinets in the building, said John Spilman, a spokesman for Dougherty’s office.