JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Another day, another delay for the opening of the new Duval County Courthouse. New tests of the fire suppression system are set to start at 4am Saturday. If it passes, Fire Chief Marty Senterfitt says Plan A will be executed. "We issue a certificate of occupancy. We move in the courthouse. We're ready to go by Monday morning," he said.
If it doesn't pass, he says there's a new Plan B. "Plan B is if we test the courthouse, and the majority of the courthouse passes, and only one or two areas as problems. We issue a temporary certificate of occupancy and we go in to what's called a phased approach."
That phased approach means only opening the parts of the building that pass the fire test, giving the contractor, Turner Construction, more time to fix the problem areas.
State Attorney Angela Corey calls the delay, "Intolerable." She says her trials are backing up. "This is big," said Corey. "And I don't think the public understands. This isn't like shutting down a private company. This is taxpayers business that needs to be conducted every single day."
But like everyone else in town, Corey will have to wait for a passing fire inspection. And if Plan A and B fail, Senterfitt offers Plan C. "If none of this works, we can still move back into the old courthouse," he said.
