Courthouse architects schedule Monday meeting

Barring any poor weather preventing travel, representatives from an architecture firm are scheduled on Monday to present information about the Ector County Courthouse to commissioners.

Brinkley Sargent, which was hired in April 2014, on a contract of $190,000, to do master planning and a needs assessment on the aging courthouse, was originally scheduled to make the presentation in December, but thick fog prevented their plane from taking off.

The architecture firm was sought after a November 2013 bond election defeat in which county officials sought approval for a $95 million new courthouse, but were soundly defeated by voters.

Preceding the bond, Ector County Judge Susan Redford formed a group to study the courthouse, the second such group in four years, which ultimately proposed the $95 million building.

The initial specs for the building included underground parking for certain elected officials and was criticized for a lack of detail on the overall plans.

After the bond was defeated, Redford said she should have gone to the public with the plans sooner and sought public input aside from the community leaders that were put in the study group.

Now, she and Brinkley Sargent have pledged to host public meetings to find out what the people of Odessa want in a courthouse before any decisions are made.

Public meetings have yet to be scheduled.

Commissioners also will:

>> Consider transportation issues for the Senior Citizens Centers.

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Courthouse architects schedule Monday meeting