City of Augusta appeals judge’s order on abandoned buildings’ rehab
The city of Augusta filed notice Monday that it is appealing Chief Judge Carl C. Brown Jr.’s order to rehab the old law enforcement center and a closed school as judicial space and pay for it within one year’s time.
Brown’s July 24 order commanded the city to prepare the buildings for the court’s use because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The following week, after a closed-door legal meeting, the Augusta Commission voted to demolish the former sheriff’s office and jail at 401 Walton Way, which was abandoned in large part because of constant leaks and mold.
Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax 7, approved by city voters, included $1.5 million to demolish the former Joint Law Enforcement Center.
Brown’s order set a 330-day deadline to complete the renovations of 401 Walton Way and the closed Craig Houghton Elementary School at 1001 Fourth St. The school was closed in 2018 when new schools were built.
Brown’s order states that the courts need extra space to conduct business because of a statewide judicial emergency. Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Melton ordered all courts to stop jury trials and most grand jury proceedings in March because of the pandemic. His order remains in effect until Aug. 10, and he can extend it.
Columbia and Burke counties, which are part of the Augusta Judicial Circuit, also have a backlog of criminal and civil cases, but Brown didn’t order either county to provide additional space for the courts.
The Augusta-Richmond County Judicial Center and John H. Ruffin Jr. Courthouse has 16 courtrooms. The $67 million building opened in 2011. It also has office space for judges and their staff, the clerk’s offices and the district attorney and solicitor offices.
When the judicial center was in the design and building stages, juvenile court and its staff were not included in order to keep children and families separated from adults. That changed two years ago when juvenile court was priced out of its space on Broad Street.
Brown has pushed the city to renovate the old sheriff’s office for juvenile court for over a year.
