Sonoma County OKs plans for $10 million vehicle fleet facility

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a plan to build a new $10 million facility on Russell Avenue in northern Santa Rosa to house the county’s fleet of vehicles and other transportation-related infrastructure.

Supervisors also signed off on a $400,000 contract for the San Francisco-based firm Kwan Henmi Architects to design the new facility, slated for development on a vacant 2.7-acre county-owned lot near the present county jail and Kaiser Permanente, off Bicentennial Way.

County officials said relocation of the county’s fleet headquarters from its current location at the county’s main administration campus north of Steele Lane must be complete by April 2016 to make room for construction of the state’s new ?$173 million courthouse.

Tuesday’s action clears the latest hurdle in the state’s bid to build the new six-story, 170,000 square-foot court facility at the site of the county’s former jail, near the current Hall of Justice. Construction of the courthouse has been delayed for years, largely due to state budget woes. The state purchased the county’s 6.8-acre property off Ventura Avenue in 2012 for ?$5.2 million.

The county selected the Russell Avenue site over two other nearby county-owned lots to relocate its repair center for the county’s fleet of 955 vehicles, including rental cars, vans, dump trucks and Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department patrol cars. Supervisors on Tuesday applauded the step forward, noting that the county’s 49-year-old courthouse at the main administration campus is outdated and undersized for current court business.

“The building is antiquated, and it’s not safe for the thousands of people who go through those doors every week,” said Supervisor Shirlee Zane, who lobbied for the new courthouse in Sacramento with other Sonoma County officials in 2012. “Especially with what we saw with the recent Napa quake, we know that buildings like this can be a real threat during an earthquake.”

The new courthouse will feature a security system to transport inmates through a tunnel from the jail, as well as a larger jury assembly area and deliberation rooms, a children’s waiting room and an in-custody holding area.

Paid for through a state construction fund, the county’s new courthouse project was one of 15 funded through 2008 legislation that increased fines and fees to support $5 billion in bonds to build or renovate 41 courthouses in 34 counties. A state report found, also in 2008, that the county’s courthouse, opened in 1966, was overcrowded, unsafe, and recommended replacing it.

“The new criminal courthouse is not only a priority for the county, but also for the state,” said Chairwoman Susan Gorin.

Rene Chouteau, the presiding judge of Sonoma County Superior Court, said that although construction has been pushed back, the timeline now appears clear.

“Preliminary design is starting next month,” Chouteau said. “Then the next step is construction.”

Crews are expected to break ground and begin construction in the beginning of 2017, with completion by the end of 2019, Chouteau said.

Pam Kinzie, a project manager with the county’s General Services Department, said the county’s new fleet location will begin with capacity for repairing up to 138 vehicles at a time, and will allow for future expansion if needed. The county’s 20 rental cars will also be permanently housed on site.

Supervisors also approved a new location for the county’s motor pool at the main administration complex, where up to ?60 vehicles will be accessible to county employees.

Kinzie said development of a new fleet headquarters will require the county to take ownership of a portion of Russell Avenue currently in Santa Rosa’s jurisdiction. The county plans to build a sidewalk along the new fleet center and make other site upgrades. Supervisors on Tuesday approved a request to the Santa Rosa City Council for help with pavement repairs on the road.

“Let’s frame the letter in the context of the city and county working collaboratively on upgrading infrastructure,” Gorin said to staff members. “We know there’s going to be more traffic.”

You can reach Staff Writer Angela Hart at 526-8503 or angela.hart@pressdem?ocrat.com. On Twitter ?@ahartreports.