Department: Justice Administration Department
Department Head/Elected Official: Dr. Ana Y??ez Correa, Interim Director
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Lease Agreement
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWDBE Participation (if applicable): N/A
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
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Request by the Justice Administration Department for approval of an amendment to an agreement with the Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation to exercise the County's option to extend the lease at the NRG Arena for jury assembly and voir dire purposes through February 6, 2022 and from April 1, 2022 through September 30, 2022.
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Background and Discussion:
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, beginning July 6, 2020, Harris County entered into a lease agreement with NRG to use the Arena for jury assembly operations and voir dire. The current lease agreement will expire on December 20th. Since Harris County is currently at Threat Level 2 (significant), extending the lease at NRG will allow jury operations and voir dire to continue to be conducted safely incorporating social distancing and necessary sanitation protocols. Please note from February 7th through March 31, 2022, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo will be held at NRG Arena and therefore jury operations will not operate at NRG Arena during that time.
Expected Impact:
Extending the agreement will enable jury assembly operations and voir dire to continue uninterrupted with at least 7 jury panels per day. An additional $3,911,955 for the extension of the agreement is requested for January 3 - February 6, 2022 and April 1, 2022 through September 30, 2022.
Alternative Options:
The agreement would expire and jury operations would return to the Jury Assembly Building. Capacity would be significantly reduced from NRG due to insufficient space to accommodate social distancing in the jury assembly rooms and courtrooms, negatively impacting the cri...
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