(This week’s civic education and engagement column from Danville’s The Republican newspaper.)
If there’s one thing Hendricks County communities dislike, it’s change. Whatever your idealized vision of your community may be, it’s probably based on the way it looked years ago. Grow up here, and you probably think about the great stores that lined Main Street. Move here a decade ago, and you’re probably complaining about the subdivision going up across the road from the farmland where you built your own home. There’s always a time when where you live was a better place.
Nostalgia is a common human trait – and it’s one that invariably complicates decision-making about a community’s future. The conversations about the best way to meet the needs of Hendricks County’s courts are a great example of why local government seems to spend so much time catching up with needs instead of getting ahead of them.
Anyone who has spent more than an hour in the current Courthouse can tell you two things. First, it’s breathtakingly beautiful. The local leaders who built it in 1914 wanted it to emphasize the importance of the justice system that protects us. They wanted citizens to be awed and filled with respect, and it still accomplishes that. (If you’ve never been in the Circuit Court’s third-floor room, you should see it. It contains a historic painting that’s been valued at more than the building itself.)
The second thing they can tell you is that it’s clearly inadequate for today’s needs – and has been for quite a while. Visit the restrooms or take the elevator, and you’ll feel like you’ve been transported way back in time. The stairways are beautiful but present a struggle for many visitors. While the maintenance staff does a great job, they’re fighting an uphill battle – something anyone who has owned a truly old house understands.
It’s also busier than ever. That’s not because of some explosion of crime. The county’s population has grown from just above 20,000 on the day the Courthouse opened to just under 200,000 today. That’s a tenfold jump over 112 years, so it’s reasonable to assume the courts deal with dramatically more cases in the same square footage. As new judges and magistrates have been added to handle the caseload, courtrooms have been carved out of every available space – some not much bigger than your living room. Downtown Danville businesses appreciate the extra foot traffic, even if it makes parking more of a hassle.
The debate didn’t start this year. I remember similar discussions taking place a couple decades ago as the county started thinking about replacing an outdated jail, and I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if comparable conversations had been underway 50 years ago. But we don’t like change in Hendricks County, so the county’s leaders kept working with a Courthouse that just kept getting older while the population just kept growing.
There’s a funny thing about public facilities that no longer meet the community’s needs: the longer you delay what needs to be done, the more complicated and expensive it will be to bring things up to date. So you can either take a deep breath now and then, making major improvements as needed, or you can simply kick the can down the road and hope the next generation gets around to updating it.
I’m not bad-mouthing local officials past or present. I understand just how difficult it is to commit taxpayers to a major capital project. I was one of five elected board members who had to convince a community to build a high school they had no idea was needed – one that, by the way, would cost a whopping $103 million – during a statewide uproar about school construction costs.
Yes, it’s important for public officials to have vision. It’s just as important for them to have the courage to make the best decisions for the people they serve, even when those people might not recognize what’s in their long-term best interests. No decision will make everyone happy, and some decisions might cost the officials their roles come the next election. But truly great leaders put the community ahead of their own political prospects.
By making the discussion about the courthouse’s future public—and by inviting a local newspaper to participate—the County Commissioners have given residents the opportunity to understand both the challenges and the tradeoffs involved. That transparency should go a long way toward heading off rumors and creating confidence in whatever decision is ultimately made. I don’t envy the participants in the process and wouldn’t trade places. Nor do I wish them an easy decision. What I do wish them is courage to make what will be one of the most impactful decisions of their lives. Aren’t you glad you don’t have to do it?