• The crunch also is an opportunity for planning for a project the county can take pride in for decades into the 21st century.

Seminole County needs more courthouse space.

That’s without question.

Precisely how much space, and how much out to be build now, remain unanswered questions, however.

That’s why what to build and where to build it are premature at this point.

First, determine what must be built. There also is the matter of how to pay for it, which will be an inescapable part of any final decision.

Nailing down how much floor space is needed ought not be too difficult. A general needs study has been made.

Surely reasonable people can agree on the specifics.

One thing out to be high on any fact-finding agenda is better use of space.

The present building is a mixture of too-little and too-much space in the wrong places. Some offices are mammoth; other work places are tiny. The building’s configuration doesn’t lend itself to efficient usage.

What about courtroom space? To hear some judges tell it, they are about to be forced onto the front lawn.

But the clerk’s figures show courtroom usage in April - said to be a typical month - was only 46 percent. Only three of 14 courtrooms were used half or more of the time.

True, many cases scheduled for trial are settled, literally at the last minute.

Still, 46 percent usage won’t strike most people as approaching critical.

Once needs for, say, the next 25 years are determined, the planners ought to turn their attention to options.

This is a much different world than just a few years ago. The taxpayer has a right to expect honest consideration of new solutions.

Remote courtrooms, for example, cannot be brushed off as "not practical" without serious study. Sure, disbursement has its disadvantages; but there are also advantages.

Putting all criminal courts at Five Points, for example would greatly reduce the cost of security and prisoner transportation.

There is a great opportunity here to use new technology and creative thinking to build a public project that truly has the people in mind. It would also be a great opportunity to restore public confidence in government.

That’s something politicians ought not let slide by.

• The crunch also is an opportunity for planning for a project the county can take pride in for decades into the 21st century.

Seminole County needs more courthouse space.

That’s without question.

Precisely how much space, and how much out to be build now, remain unanswered questions, however.

That’s why what to build and where to build it are premature at this point.

First, determine what must be built. There also is the matter of how to pay for it, which will be an inescapable part of any final decision.

Nailing down how much floor space is needed ought not be too difficult. A general needs study has been made.

Surely reasonable people can agree on the specifics.

One thing out to be high on any fact-finding agenda is better use of space.

The present building is a mixture of too-little and too-much space in the wrong places. Some offices are mammoth; other work places are tiny. The building’s configuration doesn’t lend itself to efficient usage.

What about courtroom space? To hear some judges tell it, they are about to be forced onto the front lawn.

But the clerk’s figures show courtroom usage in April - said to be a typical month - was only 46 percent. Only three of 14 courtrooms were used half or more of the time.

True, many cases scheduled for trial are settled, literally at the last minute.

Still, 46 percent usage won’t strike most people as approaching critical.

Once needs for, say, the next 25 years are determined, the planners ought to turn their attention to options.

This is a much different world than just a few years ago. The taxpayer has a right to expect honest consideration of new solutions.

Remote courtrooms, for example, cannot be brushed off as "not practical" without serious study. Sure, disbursement has its disadvantages; but there are also advantages.

Putting all criminal courts at Five Points, for example would greatly reduce the cost of security and prisoner transportation.

There is a great opportunity here to use new technology and creative thinking to build a public project that truly has the people in mind. It would also be a great opportunity to restore public confidence in government.

That’s something politicians ought not let slide by.