U.S. courthouse a step closer to getting cleaned up

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U.S. courthouse a step closer to getting cleaned up

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2005

/06/25/m1a_fedcourt_0625.html

By Jr.

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Saturday, June 25, 2005

Armed with $1.8 million, federal officials are ready to clean up

asbestos and hurricane-related mold at the federal courthouse in

West Palm Beach and predict the 32-year-old building should reopen

in December.

, assistant regional manager for public buildings at

the U.S. General Services Administration in Atlanta, said federal

officials expect to award the cleanup contract next week, with work

slated to start July 7.

The agency has hired s Engineering Group, a California-based

firm, to manage the courthouse cleanup, he said.

" They're very experienced with working with us on some of our

complicated projects, " said , who was brought onto the project

after cleanup efforts became mired in bureaucracy. " We consider this

a complicated project. "

U.S. District Judge Zloch, chief of Florida's Southern

District, which spans from Fort Pierce to Key West, called the

news " outstanding. " Zloch closed the building at 701 Clematis St. on

Nov. 19 after asbestos and mold were found following Hurricanes

Frances and Jeanne.

During the past seven months, federal judges, prosecutors and public

defenders based in West Palm Beach have been forced to travel

between Fort Pierce and Miami because their cases were reassigned.

Federal court staffers were relocated to leased office space in the

Forum office complex on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard at an annual cost

of $461,317.

To lessen the stress, Zloch issued a memo Thursday that gives West

Palm Beach judges priority in having their cases heard in Fort

Pierce.

" It's not only difficult for the judges, but the lawyers and their

parities, " Zloch said. " The court is in this difficult situation and

we're all going to have to make sacrifices. "

Zloch also said his plan to close the Fort Lauderdale federal

courthouse and build a new, larger courthouse in West Palm Beach to

accommodate both counties is dead. Zloch, who made the proposal in

January, said the Southern District's 18 active judges voted to keep

separate courthouses.

Any new federal courthouses would have to survive a federal budget

crunch, which could delay construction for up to four years, he said.

Such decisions also hinge on politics. U.S. Rep. E. Clay Shaw Jr., R-

Fort Lauderdale, has kept a close eye on the courthouse issue in

both counties.

Shaw led efforts to get the General Services Administration involved

with the cleanup in West Palm Beach. Shaw, Zloch and toured

the contaminated building in May and agreed the agency would take

over the cleanup after federal court officials in Washington

wrangled over which pot of money would pay for the effort.

, the agency's assistant regional manager, said the cleanup

requires gutting walls, overhauling the ventilation system and

peeling away vinyl wall covering that traps mold. Workers must

replace windows and remove and clean every piece of furniture so

mold doesn't reenter, he said.

Following the cleanup, which said should take six months,

federal officials are looking to install dehumidifying equipment to

keep the building mold-free.

Attorney Ackerman, president-elect of the Palm Beach County

chapter of the Federal Bar Association, said his colleagues

understand that court officials are working to improve the

conditions.

" It's an extraordinary hardship for our community, " Ackerman said.

Meanwhile, Zloch, the Southern District chief judge, could use some

divine help because the West Palm Beach cleanup and the completion

of the new Miami federal courthouse are falling during hurricane

season. Zloch doesn't want a repeat of last year.

" I pray a lot, " Zloch said with a chuckle. " It could be a long

hurricane season for me. "