To: Dale K. Weighill, Governmental Operations Committee Chairperson
From: Barbara A. Menear, Circuit Court Administrator
title
RE: Legal Resource Center Furniture
recommendation
BOARD ACTION REQUESTED:
approve the request to order furniture for the Legal Resource Center and Legal Records Division from Pinnacle Design in the amount of $62,806.93.
BACKGROUND:
The former law library has been deconstructed and the space re-purposed for the Genesee County Legal Resource Center. Project completion date is March 25, 2025. The former law library featured 2 offices with 20+year old mis-matched metal furniture. The items were returned to the county for further disposition. The bookshelves were sold through Genesee County Purchasing and the hard volume law library re-cycled. The intentional design of the LRC is to provide greater public access to legal resource materials with staff to assist, in a welcoming environment intended to better serve our community.
DISCUSSION:
The design of the LRC will include public use space with either built in desk level work surfaces or desks suitable for short term, intermittent use. The offices will require a task chair and, in limited locations, 2 additional seats for accompanying visitor support or group consultation. At the informational kiosk locations, only 1 task chair is required. There will be 4 fulltime staff offices that require more conventional office furnishings to support daily work activity, including the personal protection and emergency response protection order (PPO/ERPO) point of filing for the Legal Records Division. This is a 100% electronic workflow protocol. The multi-use conference room will feature a large table that was procured at no expense and chairs sufficient to conduct mid-large size group meetings, walk-in clinics, mediation sessions, civil case evaluation and staff training. The infrastructure will be in place for remote connectivity for expanded use. In the Legal Records Division, there are 2 fulltime managers. Only 1 office existed. Therefore, 1 office was added as part of the project. Furnishings for the office are included in this request.
IMPACT ON HUMAN RESOURCES:
None
IMPACT ON BUDGET:
Courts Capital Fund 4960-255.06-975.007 has sufficient funds for this purpose. No additional County Appropriation is required.
IMPACT ON FACILITIES:
creates more inviting, informative and welcoming public use of the same footprint. This is a positive impact on service delivery
IMPACT ON TECHNOLOGY:
Court IT staff have partnered with county IT on the low voltage data drops and expanded internet access necessary for the LRC and other parts of the Courthouse.
CONFORMITY TO COUNTY PRIORITIES:
Utilizing the available funds on quality furniture will create an inclusive, collaborative culture in the Legal Resource Center. Everyone in the Genesee County community will feel welcome and have many available resources.
resolution
TO THE HONORABLE CHAIRPERSON AND MEMBERS OF THE GENESEE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:
BE IT RESOLVED, by this Board of County Commissioners of Genesee County, Michigan, that the request by the 7th Circuit Court Administrator to authorize purchasing furniture for the new Legal Resource Center and the Legal Records Division from Pinnacle Design, at a total cost not to exceed $62,806.93 to be paid from account 4960-255.06-975.007, is approved (a copy of the memorandum request and supporting documentation being on file with the official records of the February 5, 2025 meeting of the Governmental Operations Committee of this Board).