Department: Justice Administration Department
Department Head/Elected Official: Dr. Ana Yáñez 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):
title
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.
end
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 criminal case backlog.
Alignment with Goal(s):
X Justice and Safety
_ Economic Opportunity
_ Housing
_ Public Health
_ Transportation
_ Flooding
_ Environment
_ Governance and Customer Service
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
|
12.15.20 |
I.1.h.2 |
Approved amendment to the agreement |
|
1.5.21 |
Covid-19 -9 |
Approved amendment to the agreement |
|
7.20.21 |
255 |
Approved amendment to the agreement |
|
8.24.21 |
192 |
Approved amendment to the agreement |
Location:
Address (if applicable): 1 NRG Pkwy, Houston, TX 77054
Precinct(s): Countywide
|
Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
|
Service Name |
|
|
|
FY 21-22 |
FY 22 |
Next 3 FYs |
|
Incremental Expenditures (do NOT write values in thousands or millions) |
|
Labor Expenditures |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Non-Labor Expenditures |
$821,340 |
$3,090,615 |
$ |
|
Total Incremental Expenditures |
$821,340 |
$3,090,615 |
$ |
|
Funding Sources (do NOT write values in thousands or millions) |
|
Existing Budget |
|
1030 - Covid Response and Recovery |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Current Budget |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Additional Budget Requested |
|
1030 - Covid Response and Recovery |
$821,340 |
$3,090,615 |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Additional Budget Requested |
$821,340 |
$3,090,615 |
$ |
|
Total Funding Sources |
$821,340 |
$3,090,615 |
$ |
|
Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
|
Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
- |
|
Additional Positions Requested |
- |
- |
- |
|
Total Personnel |
- |
- |
- |
Anticipated Implementation Date: January 1, 2022
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: COVID-19 related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Stephanie Armand, Program & Special Projects Administrator, Justice Administration
Attachments (if applicable): Seventh Amendment to the Agreement between Harris County and Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation