Akron Municipal Court is finally getting a new home.
City Council approved plans Monday to tear down the former Morley Health Center downtown and erect a three-story, 70,000-square-foot courthouse in its place.
The project is expected to cost up to $21 million and be paid for through court fees.
Administrative Judge Joy Oldfield said the current court facilities, located inside the city’s Harold K. Stubbs Justice Center on South High Street, are inadequate.
“It is something that the court has needed for quite some time,” she said.
She and Clerk of Courts Jim Laria noted that there are plenty of problems with the space, including the court not being handicap accessible and lacking an area to separate crime victims from defendants.
Court officials have been lobbying the council and city administration for decades for a new facility.
Oldfield, who led the effort, said the court has about $6.5 million already set aside for the project and there will be no problem paying for the project with future revenue from fees.
Officials hope to break ground in the spring and be in the new facility in 2018. The Morley Health Center is at 177 S. Broadway across the street from the Summit County Courthouse.
“We do need to have a courthouse in which we can be proud of,” Councilman Jeff Fusco said.
It’s unclear what the city will do with the vacated space in the Stubbs building. The city will study the issue, with police, who are already in the building, perhaps needing additional room, said James Hardy, chief of staff for Mayor Dan Horrigan.
The Morley Health Center once housed the city health department. Summit County Public Health absorbed the city operation in 2011.
Summit County Public Health then consolidated its operations in late 2014 in the Fairway Center office building off West Market Street in West Akron.
In other business:
• The council voted down a proposal by Councilmen Bruce Kilby and Zack Milkovich to put a charter amendment before voters to limit customers’ sewer bills to 150 percent of the average of the previous 12 months.
The vote was 10-3, with Kilby, Milkovich and Councilwoman Linda Omobien dissenting.
• Councilman Donnie Kammer urged the city administration to schedule a meeting to talk about gun violence in the community. His suggestion comes after three people were wounded and one was killed at a vigil last week at Lane Field in Akron.
“Are we doing enough?” Kammer asked.
Hardy said the administration welcomes starting a dialogue and will set up a meeting.
• The council approved vacating a portion of Spring Alley between West Bowery Street and Water Street to allow Akron Children’s Hospital to expand the Considine building. The hospital has yet to announce details of the project.
• The council agreed to spend $45,000 to repair the Ed Davis Tennis Courts near the Akron Zoo. The work is needed to make sure no one is injured on the courts, which are in poor condition, Councilwoman Margo Sommerville said.
• The council approved a resolution honoring former Police Chief Edward Irvine, who died earlier this month at the age of 80. He was Akron’s first black police chief.
“We certainly benefited from his leadership,” Fusco said.
• Councilman Russel Neal Jr. said he’s investigating “recreation deserts” in the city — areas where there aren’t nearby parks or other recreational opportunities.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrickABJ.