South county court expanding

Part of the Yuma Justice Court's caseload will be shifted to the south Yuma County Justice Court after it relocates in San Luis, Ariz., early next year.

The court, located in Somerton for 70 years, will be the first of three county departments to move functions into a 31,000-square-foot satellite building scheduled to be completed in April on a lot next to the newly opened county library at 1075 N. 6th Ave. in the border city.

"The construction of the building is very important because we're going to have better facilities, better technology and improved security measures," said Jorge Lozano, the justice of the peace in the south county Precinct 2. "Our current building is no longer sufficient and it has deteriorated."

The work will be under way just as a redrawing of Justice Court precinct boundaries gives Lozano's court jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases originating on Yuma's west side as well as the south county.

"We will take on cases that now are handled by (Yuma) Judge (David) Cooper," Lozano said. "That court is handling more cases than are permitted by state statute."

The new lines, which take effect Jan. 1, will mean San Luis residents who have being going to court in Somerton will stay home, while some Yuma and all Somerton residents will have to travel to San Luis.

That will benefit San Luis, he said, because "indirectly we will create a flow of people to San Luis, and those people will use the services and consume products in the businesses there."

The building's technology will also enable the county to meet a state mandate to archive all court records in an electronic format over the next 20 years, he said.

Unlike the current court building, the new court will be equipped with security cameras, Lozano said.

Later on, the county plans to open satellite offices of the adult probation and health departments in the $4 million building. Yuma County Supervisor Tony Reyes, whose district includes San Luis and Somerton, anticipates the day it houses still more departments.

Locating the satellite offices building in San Luis is the county's recognition of the border city's rapid growth and its accompanying need for a higher level of service, Lozano said.

Reyes said the building project was launched "with the philosophy of bringing county services to the people."

The presence of the satellite building will help clear up a misunderstanding about the role of county government in the minds of  San Luis residents, many of whom migrated to the border city from Mexico, Reyes said.

"Unfortunately, I have to say that there's a certain amount of misinformation among our people about what are the functions and responsibilities of the county. I think that is because in Mexico, there is not similar system. I hope we can correct that misunderstanding."

The building is being constructed with interest from sales tax revenue the county previously collected for capital improvement projects that included new court facilities in Yuma. The contractor for the project is Yuma Valley Contractors, which also built the new library branch in San Luis.