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The debacle continues.
Budget overruns, poor leadership, and tough economy plague chronically delayed project in Rockwood.
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Source: The Oregonian, Tuesday May 12, 2009
by Nikole Hannah-Jones
Stalled for decades, project now lacks support
Multnomah County Commissioner Diane McKeel told a crowd gathered to fight for a East County justice center in Rockwood that there's not enough board support to build the long-delayed courthouse project anywhere in Gresham because of the economy. The community should stop fighting for location and push commissioners to support building it at all, she said. Editor: Contact the commissioners here.
McKeel, County Chairman Ted Wheeler, Sheriff Bob Skipper, Gresham Mayor Shane Bemis and District Attorney Mike Schrunk sat with a panel of other government officials at a forum Tuesday night where community members were to urge the county board to reconsider building the beleagured project in Rockwood.
Original plans called for a justice center to be built in Rockwood, which has been plagued by crime and disinvestment. But Wheeler proposed the project, which has been stalled for decades, be moved to downtown Gresham because it would save about $7 million.