Columbus市议会主席哈丁要求审查老旧市法院大楼安全 11月9日将在大楼内举行听证会
位于俄亥俄州富兰克林县的Columbus市，据《Columbus电讯报》10月16日报道，Columbus市议会主席香农·哈丁要求对富兰克林县市法院大楼进行安全审查，并宣布市议会将于11月9日在该大楼内举行听证会。这座47年历史的大楼近年来出现消防规范违规、电梯故障与安保隐患等问题。
今年7月，市长安德鲁·金瑟宣布市政府无力新建法院大楼：放弃造价3.35亿美元、2018年以来筹备且选民两次通过债券征税的新建计划，改为斥资2.6亿美元翻修现有大楼。此前，法官们曾因消防灭火系统部分停机而一度关闭法院。
哈丁在10月16日的声明中表示，法院官员与工作人员感到被误导与失望；他去年与两周前两次在行政法官杰西卡·德瓦尔加陪同下视察大楼，对其状况持续恶化感到震惊。哈丁说：“我们欠每年走进这扇门的50万居民、以及在大楼里工作的数百名市政雇员一个安全、无障碍的司法场所。随着市长取消新建法院项目，我们需要一个切实可行的前进路径作为答复。”
Columbus Council President Hardin Calls for Safety Review of Aging Municipal Courthouse; Hearing Set for November 9
Columbus is a city in Franklin County, Ohio. The Columbus Dispatch reported on October 16 that City Council President Shannon Hardin is calling for a safety review of the Franklin County Municipal Courthouse and has announced a November 9 council hearing to be held at the aging building, which has had fire code violations, elevator breakdowns and security concerns.
In July, Mayor Andrew Ginther announced the city could not afford to build a new courthouse, dropping a $335 million construction project in the works since 2018, for which voters twice approved bond levies, in favor of spending $260 million to renovate the existing building. Judges had earlier closed the courthouse temporarily while part of the fire suppression system was offline.
In an October 16 announcement, Hardin said court officials and staff feel misled and frustrated, and that he toured the building last year and again two weeks ago with Administrative Judge Jessica D'Varga and was shocked at its further decline. 'We owe a safe and accessible place to access justice to the half a million residents who come through its doors every year, and to the hundreds of city employees who work there,' Hardin said. 'With the Mayor's cancellation of the courthouse project, we need answers about a realistic path forward.'
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：哥伦布俄亥俄州议会大厦实景。图片来源：Becker1999 from Grove City, OH，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 2.0。Photo: 哥伦布俄亥俄州议会大厦实景. Image: Becker1999 from Grove City, OH, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
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