Courthouse decay must not happen again

Miami-Dade County Commissioner Sally Heyman, in her Aug. 25 letter, “Let’s focus on a new county courthouse,” should think twice about this issue. Her letter was in response to an Aug. 11 story about Miami-Dade’s deteriorating civil courthouse. A proposed new courthouse will be built instead of repairing the old one.

Local government didn’t seem to think that funding for repairs was a priority in the past, and now the answer is to abandon the current courthouse and build a new one.

What sense does this make? Who was responsible for the courthouse’s deterioration?

There should be no room for error when it comes to ensuring safety in the workplace. Local government failed in this regard.

What has changed to ensure this doesn’t happen again with the new courthouse?

If the proper maintenance had been started and maintained decades back, this situation would not have occurred.

Imagine the tremendous amount of money wasted and the number of people who were responsible for preventing and never were held accountable.

This issue also pertains to the Claude Pepper Federal Building across the street from the courthouse. It has been in need of repairs for years.

It all is a sad situation. Public servants working in county government haven’t been doing their jobs for years, and no one will be held responsible.Why?

This story was originally published September 3, 2021 at 8:45 PM with the headline "Courthouse decay must not happen again."