Domestic relations judge upset with constantly changing courthouse plans

MEDINA — Medina County Domestic Relations Judge Mary R. Kovack said she's seen eight different sets of plans for the Medina County Courthouse and only one has met the requirements of her court — and that "changed before the ink dried." Kovack is not happy with the design plan process and in a letter to Medina County commissioners this week said she wouldn't rule out moving off site altogether. "There have been so many plans, every time a change is made, our floor plan has changed dramatically," Domestic Relations Court Administrator/Bailiff Daniel Maynard said. "It was very close at one point to a plan that would work for us. But the architect came back and it was changed." Maynard said the judge has been working with County Administrator Scott Miller on a plan that would work for everybody. Currently, the Domestic Relations Court is on the first and second floors of the 1841 courthouse. In the latest plan — now about a week old, Kovack said — the court would be moved to the first floor of the 1841 courthouse, with some of its operations in the new yet-to-be-built courthouse building. Things are getting to the nitty gritty, as the project is scheduled to break ground in the spring. Miller said it could be finished by 2022. The commissioners discussed Kovack's letter at Tuesday's meeting and said they didn't want to make any wholesale changes at this point. "We have a good plan," Commissioner Bill Hutson said. "I think we should stick with it." Miller said architectural plans from Brandstetter Carroll Inc. are to the point where changes would have to be minor. "Maybe a wall here or a door there," Miller said. Kovack had asked to move into the 1969 courthouse, but officials are keeping that open for a possible move of the Medina Municipal Court. For Kovack, she said she doesn't need glitz. She wants her courtroom to be safe and secure. "The Domestic Relations division does not need fancy or new facilities," she wrote in the letter. "The issue I have is not with square footage, but with the functionality of the space and the safety of the public, victims of domestic violence, litigants and attorneys, my staff and myself." In the latest proposals, she is most concerned that her court doesn't have a waiting room. She said she can't keep people safe in a narrow hallway. There have been many incidents in the past in the public area, including one on Monday. She said a man got belligerent with her bailiff, threw papers all over and then pointed at him with his fingers made to mimic a gun and shot it, saying, "I'm going to be back." Kovack said it was a scary scene. She said her bailiff is fine. "He wasn't fazed by it," she said. "I'm more concerned, with the way the world is going." Unlike the common pleas courts, there are no sheriff's deputies in Kovack's court due to budget cuts. "I'm only looking at my piece (of the courthouse)," she said. "We have to keep people safe. I can't do it in what they have given me on the first floor (in the latest plans). "It's not humanly possible. We need a waiting room." Contact reporter Bob Finnan at (330) 721-4049 or rfinnan@medina-gazette.com.