Johnson County officials offer courthouse tours to stress need for annex

IOWA CITY - Evidence from some of Johnson County's grisliest murder cases - Roger Bentley, Jonathan Memmer and Curtis Fry - sits on shelves in a damp old outbuilding's basement near the courthouse.

The Clerk of Court's Office is overrun with files. Hearings are canceled so courtrooms can double for jury deliberation. Narrow halls provide little room for a metal detector. And at least once every other year a defendant escapes out the back door, which must remain unlocked because that's how to get to the restroom, Johnson County's lead prosecutor said.

'That's the crowded conditions we are in,” Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness explained Wednesday on a guided tour of the courthouse, built in 1901.

The county is providing free courthouse tours to the public in hopes of drumming up support for a $33.4 million bond referendum to build an annex that would address safety and space needs. The tours will be Wednesdays at 4 p.m. through Oct. 29. Election Day is Nov. 4.

If approved, the annex would be built into the 113-year old courthouse's western hillside, with a hallway connecting the new and old.

Tim Weitzel and Wendy Robertson, both of Iowa City, participated in the tour on Wednesday to see the historical features of the old building and to get better informed before the election.

'I was a soft ‘yes,' and this solidified it,” Robertson said toward the end of the hourlong tour. 'They don't have space for staff, which means they can't hire more staff to run diversion programs.”

Weitzel concurred.

'I was already leaning toward the annex, but you can see this is definitely cramped and the storage is below standard,” Weitzel said.

In one courtroom, the families of victims and defendants must sit side by side and within arm's reach of defendants and attorneys. Defendants are marched through the building to hearings, past attorneys and the public.

There are safety concerns, Lyness said.

'There's danger for the judges in court, and it concerns me,” Lyness said.

Lyness and other supporters hope this time is the charm for the referendum. Voters three times have rejected projects that would have included a new jail and courthouse addition, including a $43 million justice center in 2013.

This package focuses just on the courthouse.

If approved, the annex would be about 69,000 square feet with six new courtrooms, expanded space for the clerk's office, new jury deliberation rooms, interview rooms for client and attorney confidential communications, and secure entry points.

One loss for the courthouse would be the grand entrance, which would remain intact for decorative purposes, but would not be an entryway.