Before the end of the year, those having to pay tickets or appearing before a municipal judge will be doing so in a new location.

This July, work will begin to establish a separate courtroom, moving it from the current Sedona City Council chambers to the city-owned building at 55 Sinagua Drive, adjacent to city hall.

Included will be office space for three clerks, court administrator’s office, judge’s chambers, jury room, lawyer conference room, file room, bathroom facilities and a kitchen area, totaling an estimated 1,312 to 1,528 square feet in improvements.

According to a city report, the court and council compete for use of the council chambers due to respective schedules. The judge conducts in-court business Monday through Wednesday and there are only 10 actual days out of the month during which to schedule in-court business.

“As work of the court increases, this limitation becomes more apparent,” the report states. “There have already
been instances where time sensitive matters have been redirected to other courts because the courtroom was not available.” The renovation budget has been set at $263,500.

Council voted unanimously on Dec. 28, 2015, to purchase the property for $850,000. The purchase went through a month later.

“At this point we’re looking to do all the construction on the building beginning in the next fiscal year,” City Engineer Andy Dickey said. “The plan is to start in July with work expected to take about four to five months. We had expected to be started by now with construction, but planning has taken longer than expected. But we’re looking at a complete remodel of the entire building.”

So why the two-and-a-half year delay in moving the court from one building to another?

“It took a while to get a consultant on board and get things moving,” Dickey said. “We had to keep it under budget and find someone who could do the work. It took us a while to find the right person.”

He said in a way, this has been a group effort since the city is not only looking for input from the consultant but from court and legal department personnel, as well. In addition, Dickey’s staff has visited other city courtrooms to get an idea of how to best design it efficiently.

“Since we’re doing this, we want to do it right,” Dickey said.

A Look Back

The properties were owned by the Sedona Verde Valley Association of Realtors. The property at 50 Sinagua Drive is a vacant lot adjacent to city hall. The property at 55 Sinagua Drive was the location of the SVVAR offices.

“This property has significant long-term value to the city,” Sedona City Manager Justin Clifton said shortly after the purchase. “The city government has changed significantly since incorporation. Odds are very good that more change can be expected over the next 30 years and beyond.

“While it is impossible to know what kind of government Sedona citizens will want in the future, there is a reasonable possibility that demand for government services could increase. The property is adjacent to the current city hall complex and represents the only opportunity to expand facilities while maintaining the convenience of housing many services at one location.”

The purchase was in negotiations for months, with SVVAR originally asking $1 million. According to the agreement, the city allowed SVVAR to lease the building for free up to six months.

At the time of the purchase, Clifton said he was not sure what its intended purpose would be other than overflow parking.

“There have been other discussions about how new facilities on the property could improve existing services, but those are only conceptual at this point,” he said in early 2016.

Ron Eland can be reached at 282-7795 ext. 122, or email reland@larsonnewspapers.com