Idaho still mulling Capitol question

BOISE – State lawmakers know they want to renovate the 100-year-old Capitol, but the question of the 21st century has been whether the new plan should include new east and west wings, or a more straightforward upgrade of the existing building.

A legislative task force designated to weigh the alternatives gathered in Boise on Tuesday, but no clear direction came from the meeting.

Department of Administration Director Pam Ahrens, who is in charge of all state buildings, said her staff plans to study the various ideas, how they would be carried out and how much they would cost.

Officials started planning the renovation in 1998. A $64-million design was approved in 2001 but it stalled the next year, when lawmakers raided the renovation account to shore up the state’s operating budget.

Lawmakers also have been unable to agree whether to rebuild the Ada County Courthouse next door to the Capitol or demolish it and start over.

During the most recent legislative session this past winter, plans for the Courthouse stopped again when Sen. Joe Stegner, R-Lewiston, convinced a majority of other senators that major additions to the east and west wings of the Capitol itself would solve current overcrowding and mechanical problems for the next 150 years.

“That’s the kind of decision that we’re faced with,” Stegner said Tuesday. “What will be the turnout to a contentious hearing here in Boise 50 years from now?”

But House Speaker Bruce Newcomb insisted that the original $64-million Statehouse renovation plan should go forward.

“I’m not really critical of the wings proposal; I think it would be really nice to have that,” he said. “But I’m worried about what happens to this building in the interim.”

Jan Few, Idaho’s design and construction manager, told the committee the wings could be as large as 80,000 square feet and could cost anywhere from around $300 a square foot to $500 a square foot. That could put the price tag up to $40 million per wing.