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R-07-09 A RESOLUTION CONCERNING THE LOCATION OF A NEW CIRCUIT COURT COURTHOUSE FOR THE CITY OF PORTSMOUTH. WHEREAS, the present Circuit Court courthouse of the City of Portsmouth, encompassing both court facilities per se and the Circuit Court Clerk's Office, is part of the "Civic Center," which also contains a General District Court courthouse, a Juvenile and Domestic Relations courthouse, the City Jail and portion of the Police Department; and WHEREAS, the Civic Center was built in 1969, and the Circuit Court courthouse is badly deteriorated and is no longer adequate to serve the needs of the public and the court system safely and efficiently; and WHEREAS, it is in the public interest that a new Circuit Court courthouse be built to correct these concerns; and it is necessary to design and build court facilities that meet current standards of safety to accommodate judges, lawyers, jurors. defendants. witnesses, police officers, the general public etc.; and WHEREAS, City Council has approved and ratified a new Circuit Court courthouse by its due and lawful adoption of the Capital Improvement Plan and Capital Budget for fiscal Year 2006-2007, on April 25, 2006, but a location has not heretofore been selected by City Council; and WHEREAS, with City Council approval, the City has conducted a professional, competitive selection process and as a result thereof has selected a nationally respected firm, Moseley Architects, to be the Project Architect; and WHEREAS, the role of the Project Architect is to do a needs assessment, conceptual design, and preliminary cost analysis, to be followed by actual design of the facility and the development of the construction documents; and Moseley has already commenced performing this work; and WHEREAS, it is important that the location of a new Circuit Court courthouse be convenient to the public and conducive to efficient operation and coordination with other components of the judicial system. including the lower courts. the City Jail, City Hall. the Commonwealth's Attorney, the Police Department, financial institutions, public parking, public transit, and private legal offices; and WHEREAS there is an available property meeting all these requirements that, upon careful consideration by City Council, is determined to be considered the ideal site that will allow phasing or expansion, superior to any other, and it is located at the northwest corner of the intersection of Crawford Street (running generally north and south) and Crawford Street North (running generally east and west), commonly referred to as the "Desk Inc. site" and hereinafter referred to as the "Property"; and