New provincial offences Court House contractor named: Building scheduled to open in the Alton Village in 2019.

News 100 redBy Staff

April 20th, 2017

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The company that will build the new courthouse where provincial offences will be heard has been announced. The Court House will serve the residents of Burlington, the Town of Oakville, the Town of Milton and the Town of Halton Hills.

The new courthouse will be built at 4085 Palladium Way in Burlington Alton Village, under Design-Build and Leaseback agreement with a 30 year lease.  It will serve the people of Burlington, Halton Hills, Milton and Oakville. Construction will begin this spring with a January 2019 completion.

Court House - new

New provincial offences Court House to be located on the edge of the Alton Village Community is scheduled to open in January of 2019.

Court house - site plan

Site plan for the provincial offences Court House to be built in the Alton Village Community. Scheduled to be ready for occupation in January 2019

The structure will be designed and built by Gross Capital Inc., constructed by Buttcon Ltd. and leased to Halton Court Services.

Once complete, the new courthouse will administer provincial offences court services for all of Halton Region. Provincial offences court services deal strictly with non-criminal provincial offences charges issued in Halton. These non-criminal charges include:

• Highway Traffic Act offences, such as speeding, driving without insurance or failing to stop at a red light

• Municipal bylaw offences, such as excessive noise, animal control or garbage disposal

• Offences under provincial legislation such as the Environmental Protection Act, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Dog Owners’ Liability Act or the Trespass to Property Act.

As a division of the City of Burlington’s Legal Department, Halton Court Services administers Provincial Offences Act court services on behalf of the municipal partnership within the Halton area through two locations: one in Burlington and one in Milton. These two existing courts for provincial offences will relocate to 4085 Palladium Way once the new courthouse is built.

The Milton and Burlington court service locations are 16,000 square feet (1,486 square metres) combined. The new facility, at 34,000 square feet (3,159 square metres), will meet today’s needs more effectively and will help Halton Court Services plan 30 years into the future.

Justice is a very profitable business for the municipal sector.  Financial results for the end of the third quarter of 2016 were:

• Gross revenues of $6,909,402 (81.0% of budget)
• Overall expenditures of $3,283,653 (72.9% of budget)
• Year-to-date net revenue of $3,625,749 (90.0% of budget)

That $3 million gets shared by the municipalities in the Region

Given the continuing growth in population, a moderate increase of 1,000 charges (71,000) is projected for 2017. Gross revenue for Halton Court Services  in 2017 is budgeted at $8.82 million as compared to $8.53 million during 2016.

Included in the report was mention of “red light” cameras – they produce offence notices that pull in an excess of $300 for those who chose to run that red light at two in the morning.

The new courthouse is designed by the Ventin Group Ltd. to capture the changing and evolving landscape of Halton Region in the design. The natural environment is echoed in the design through the selection of landscape materials.

• The north half of the building is a stone wall, reflecting the strong and secure Niagara Escarpment.

• The south half is a glass wall, symbolic of transparency—a virtue and goal for the justice system. The glass wall is lined with a series of wooden pillars representing the natural woodlands of Halton Region.

• The glass walls facing east and west are treated with wavy, coloured glazing to represent the character and motion of the local creeks.

• The thin, white roof canopy captures a thin blanket of snow overhanging to the south to provide sun shading for the glass—appropriate for a Canadian institution.

The new courthouse will be a dignified building, timeless in design, welcoming to the public and comfortable for all staff using the facility.

Building the new, consolidated Ontario Court of Justice – Halton Provincial Offences Office courthouse is a long-term commitment to meet the demand of provincial offences and help improve access to justice.”

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