State looking to replace Placerville courthouse
By Carlos Alcala, Sacramento Bee
A new Placerville courthouse site favored by locals is officially being considered, state officials announced Friday.
The Administrative Office of the Courts has been looking for a site to replace the nearly 100-year-old Main Street courthouse and two other facilities for the El Dorado Superior Court.
Late last year, Placerville and El Dorado County government leaders had expressed fears that the Office of the Courts favored sites outside Placerville.
If this comes to pass, I hope the 100 year old building can be retained as a part of Placerville’s history. Too often old buildings are torn down for modern structures (bland, out of character). In Europe they prize the old buildings. Keep Placerville’s historic flavor.
The building is now owned by the State of California. It may continue to be retained for use as a courthouse for civil matters, or for other state purposes unrelated to local court operations. Like many old buildings in downtown Placerville, it has issues with contaminants such as mold and asbestos. Despite its structural woes, it is representative of an era when courthouse squares were a part of a city’s downtown. Hopefully, it will be refurbished and retained as the centerpiece of historic Placerville. It is not the original courthouse; however. That structure burned down and the current building was erected as a replacement around 1912-1913.
Admin: you mention that the state now owns the courthouse in PV. I know they were trying to get us to give them the courthouse here in SLT, but it couldn’t be done because of the way Mrs. Springmeyer had deeded it to the city? Do we still own our courthouse, and what is the reason behind the state’s attempt to grab all the courthouses? Just curious. Thanks.
The Legislature passed the Trial Court Facilities Act of 2002, transferring ownership (and/or responsibility for maintenence) of court facilities from the counties to the state. The ownership of mixed use buildings, such as the courts in Building C in Placerville, usually stays with the county where the court is located. The transfer of ownership or responsibility for maintenance was negotiated separately in each county, and generally for each court structure. The counties saved funds that were previously paid to the state for maintenance of effort – the courts are a branch of state government and are funded by the state. In El Dorado County, ownership of the courthouses in Cameron Park and downtown Placerville has transferred to the state. The court facilities at Building C and in South Lake Tahoe are owned by the county but maintained by the state. I’d link you to some other materials on the topic, but I’m not that tech-savvy. Hope this helps!