Vol. 29, No. 2 #7 (April 2006). Extreme Makeover: Supreme Court Edition.

• Author: By Mary Angell

Wyoming Bar Journal

2006.

Vol. 29, No. 2 #7 (April 2006).

Extreme Makeover: Supreme Court Edition

WYOMING LAWYERApril 2006/Vol. 29, No. 2Extreme Makeover: Supreme Court EditionBy Mary Angell

Wyoming's Supreme Court justices have a unique way to stay warm on cold winter days. "We soak a cloth in cold water and set it over the thermostat to make the heat come up," Justice Barton Voigt told the Wyoming Lawyer recently.

This is just one example of the antiquated conditions that exist within the stately 70-year-old building that houses the Wyoming Supreme Court, the law library and the state library. Fortunately, the building is about to undergo a renovation that will make it safer, more modern and more functional - and the overhaul begins not a moment too soon.

"I think everyone - legislators, the governor, the state's five elected officials - recognized that this is not a pleasant thing to go through, but every 70 or 80 years, you have to do something before the building falls down around your ears," said Voigt.

Several years ago, the state of Wyoming conducted studies of state buildings and determined the Supreme Court building needed major renovation.

Two cost analyses were completed. For $2 million, the building could be brought up to code for electrical wiring, plumbing and fire safety, but the alterations would be incredibly labor-intensive, according to Voigt, who volunteered to represent the Court during the planning and construction phase of the project. Redoing the electrical wiring, for example, would require chiseling into the thick concrete layers within the walls.

The State instead followed the recommendation of Rande Pouppirt, the Cheyenne architect heading up the renovation, who maintains that gutting the interior to make the necessary improvements will not only be faster and easier but will result in a better product. Funding was approved by the Wyoming Legislature in 2005.

The renovation project, estimated to cost $8 million, is scheduled for completion in June of 2008.

"Once we're back in this building, the very fact that we are in a much safer building that's up to fire code and has the built-in capacity for our I.T. people to function as they should and to grow - it will all be worth it," said Chief Justice William Hill.

In the meantime, the building's occupants will have to conduct business elsewhere...