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Polk County Supervisor Angela Connolly called it “sad” that a proposed plan for upgrading our court facilities has a completion date 20 years distant, in 2030. We have to agree.

The National Center for State Courts last week presented three scenarios for doing something about the current Polk County system. But, basically, its recommendations come down to just two choices: Buy the Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield building at Fifth Avenue and Mulberry Street or remodel the Polk County Convention Complex at Fifth and Grand avenues.

Supervisor E.J. Giovannetti asked to see the numbers comparing the cost of buying a building to the cost of renovating one. It’s possible that finances could tip the scale toward the Convention Complex – which is going to need some kind of renovation eventually.

However, the Wellmark building seems like the better choice, if only because it’s right across the street from the venerable Polk County Courthouse. Buy that, renovate the old jail, which stands just west of the courthouse, and we’ll have a “campus” that should expedite all kinds of legal matters.

In retrospect, the county erred by presenting voters with a too-expensive plan for a new courthouse. They rejected it, then the economy turned extremely sour, and now the decision-makers see no choice but to use existing facilities.

It’s an acceptable outcome, but the proposed pace would be maddeningly slow.

The needs are obvious. The old courthouse wasn’t designed for the current caseload; juvenile offenders mingle with adult prisoners; county employees spend too much time driving here and there to complete their tasks.

Some of these problems will be solved before 2030, if the county moves ahead on the recommendations.

But it shouldn’t take 20 years to finish the rest of the list. We’ll have a whole new set of court system complaints by then.