5 Trial Lawyer • Spring 2023 courthouses, a “fool’s mission” was the terms most often bandied around. Enter our Clackamas County project coordinator, Gary Barth. Barth had been hired by the county to spearhead our efforts with the planning of the new courthouse. He had been involved in said planning for several years before I got involved. Knowing our problems with financing issues, he searched for other options and found one: the P3 model for developing public works. Based on his research and presentation to those of us involved, he presented the option to the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners. The board requested further study and ultimately adopted this method of replacement in 2021. The state’s participation in this process was a little longer. The Legislature has also embraced (or acquiesced to) this process to build the new Clackamas County Courthouse. A P3 is a “Public, Private Partnership.” Specifically, in a P3 approach, the county contracts with a consortium or project company to provide the design, construction, and partial (private) financing to replace our courthouse and provide for its maintenance and operation for 30 years. The “project company” includes architects, construction, finance, technology and maintenance companies joined together to deliver the new building. Several courthouses across the country have been constructed using this process. We sought them out to confirm the benefits and risks of the process. The county sent out requests for proposals (RFPs) to companies and received eight potential applicants in 2021. Those interested companies were winnowed down to three applicants in 2022. One subsequently dropped out. Of the two finalists, the board chose one to build, operate and maintain the new courthouse. This procurement process was competitive. The project company’s application was very detailed and had to meet requirements of the county and state for the needs of our courthouse. Full speed ahead We now have several counties watching us to see how this process works to determine if they want to adopt a similar P3 process. One of the advantages of a P3 process is the county knows exactly what it is getting, and how it will pay for it. There are no “change orders” during construction. The plan is already largely completed. Tweaking may occur, but only if we can do so without changing the final price. After we move in, the monthly payments are the same for the next 30 years. Construction is faster with a P3 compared to conventional construction. We should be moving in by May 2025. Financing, operation and lifecycle maintenance risks are shifted to the private partners. This saves us money. The county and state don’t pay anything until the building is completed. At the end of 30 years, we should have a building that is as good as the one we get when we move in. By building “smart” or with quality construction, we are ultimately saving money as things will not have to be fixed or replaced over time (at our cost). Sanctions occur if, for example, an elevator or bathroom goes out of commission. The final price includes not only the technology required for the courthouse, but furniture and maintenance of the building and its contents. The most state of the art construction methods and content are considered and applied to save us money now and in the future. The new Clackamas County Courthouse will have 14 completed courtrooms now and two more as “warm shells” to complete as needed in the future. We intend this to last 50-100 years. It’s been an interesting process. I’m really looking forward to completion! Judge Kathie Steele serves at ClackamasCounty Circuit Court, 807 Main St., Rm 101, Oregon City, OR 97045. She can be reached at 503-655-8678 or kathie.f.steele@ojd.state.or.us. Planning is completed for a new Clackamas County Courthouse, which is expected to be open for business by May 2025.
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