TULSA, Okla. — The future of the Tulsa County Courthouse is up in the air as county commissioners heard from consultants about their recommendations. The options are to update the current county courthouse with an annexed building - or build a new one altogether.
Some would say the Tulsa County Courthouse has structural and safety problems and isn't built for today's customers.
Tulsa County Commissioners hired consultants in 2020 to help with a plan of action. They presented their recommendations in four scenarios.
Scenario one keeps the existing courthouse and builds a criminal court annex across the street. Scenario two also keeps the current courthouse but builds a civil and family court annex. Scenario three involves building a new courthouse with more parking and green space on South Denver. Scenario four also builds a new courthouse but near South Lansing.
Tulsa District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler says he likes the Denver option.
"You're not going to have a lot of expense in taking down other buildings," Kunzweiler said. "You have access to an open area that's underutilized."
The building's 70-plus-year-old age can be seen as soon as people walk in on the wall.
"We have to now consider the world we currently live in," said Tulsa County Sheriff Vic Regalado. "From a population standpoint, from a security standpoint, from an efficiency standpoint, from a growth standpoint, it all needs to be looked at."
The sheriff and the DA agree - that safety in the current courthouse is a big concern. For example, there is an elevator inmates use to go to court directly in the public's eye. Regalado also reminded 2 News about the incident of a gunman opening fire in the plaza heading toward the courthouse in 2012.
One Tulsa County resident, Jon McGrath, was so passionate about the need to build a new courthouse that he wrote and printed off a four-page packet explaining his thoughts about building a new courthouse versus remodeling a 70-year-old building.
"I would just hate to get a new suit with an old pair of shoes," McGrath said.
He also wants it to have updated technology, more space, and be friendlier to those with disabilities.
"ADA did not exist when we did our last courthouse," McGrath said. "Lets take what we've learned from the past and go forward and make something we can all enjoy and be proud of."
The following steps include more meetings, coming up with a final report stating what scenario county commissioners plan on going with, and the funding methods for it.
A full PDF of Wednesday's county courthouse presentation can be found here.
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