BY STEVE KEMME
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON -- Burdened by an increasingly heavy caseload, Butler County Juvenile Court officials have asked for more space for court hearings, programs and offices.
Judge David Niehaus presented the county commissioners Monday with expansion options ranging in cost from $500,000 to $1.5 million. "We need space right now," he said. "We've filled up the building. The problems in juvenile cases are getting tougher, and hearings are taking longer."
The Butler County Juvenile Detention Center will undergo a $3.4 million expansion next year to increase its number of beds from 18 to 64. Construction bids will be accepted in the fall, and work will begin in early 1999.
Juvenile court complaints concerning delinquency, unruliness, abuse, neglect and dependency jumped from 3,826 in 1995 to 4,572 last year, said Rob Clevenger, director of Butler Couty Juvenile Court services. Last year, there also were 3,343 juvenile traffic cases, he said.
Judge Niehaus said commissioners must decide about the court expansion soon because it must be coordinated with the detention center project.
The commissioners said they need to find out whether they have any money available for the expansion.
Commissioner Mike Fox said he would rather see money spent for juvenile programs instead of court and office space.
"If we have money available, I want to make sure the bulk of the dollars go for programs for kids," he said.
Mr. Fox said the court should explore the possibility of renting or buying the former Roosevelt Junior High School building at 12th and Walnut streets in Hamilton's Fourth Ward.
Rob Clevenger, director of juvenile court operations, said the court is considering that site.
The proposed $1.5 million court expansion would provide an additional 10,800 square feet of space. The Roosevelt building has 125,000 square feet of floor space.
Juvenile court is trying to learn how much it would cost to renovate the building, Mr. Clevenger said.
Juvenile court has a judge, two full-time magistrates and three part-time magistrates.
Judge Niehaus said he badly needs another magistrate but does not have space for another hearing room.
The space crunch has caused delays in some cases, he said.
Mr. Fox said the court should rent space somewhere for an additional hearing room.
"Most of your cases don't require heavy security," he told Judge Niehaus. "That shouldn't be a barrier."
The judge said he would consider that idea.
