For the fourth time in 10 years, Santa Barbara County’s Grand Jury is calling for the county coroner’s office to be demolished and rebuilt due to health and safety hazards.
During a recent visit to the facility, I found that many issues outlined in the report have been fixed. A point underlined by General Services Director Kirk Lagerquist at Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting.
"The grand jury's recommendations for repair and inspections or abatement have been implemented," Lagerquist said.
Since the publication of the grand jury report in June, the coroner’s office now has a new roof, abated mold, and has been treated for termites, but problems persist due to the age of the building and grand jury reports dating back to 2015 call for a full rebuild.
"Everyone agrees the facility is run down and needs some replacement. You know, it may not be the first one replaced, but there are plans to replace," said Supervisor Das Williams at Tuesday's meeting.
Replacement of the facility is part of the Calle Real Master plan community service campus, estimated to cost more than $15 million and construction is slated to begin in 2039. Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Lt. Jarrett Morris agrees a full replacement is needed but denies safety hazards.
"It was noted in the report that it's unsafe for our personnel to be there. I wholeheartedly disagree. It is, again, antiquated but we have no health issues," he said.
In the meantime, General Services stated that $390,000 has been spent on improvements to the current building over the last 9 years.
"It is a very antiquated building. It does need to be replaced. However, General Services has done a superb job and has been very responsive in getting a lot of the needs met for our personnel," Lt. Morris continued.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted the outlined responses to the grand jury report and said the county plans capital improvement projects years and decades in advance to ensure streamlined, economical prioritization is efficient.
