Records Show Public Works Directed Hazardous Materials Survey Specifically for Demolition Months Before Board Vote

Redding, CA — Documents obtained through a Public Records Act request reveal that Shasta County Public Works staff directed a hazardous materials survey of the Old Courthouse at 1500 Court Street to be conducted specifically “for demolition purposes” more than three months before the Board of Supervisors formally voted on the building’s fate.

A revised “ACC-Direction to Proceed” dated December 2, 2024, and signed by Shane Winton, Supervising Engineer, on behalf of then-Public Works Director Troy Bartolomei, instructed the consultant that the survey was being performed for demolition purposes. An earlier August 24, 2024, Notice to Proceed had framed the same survey’s purpose more broadly as “demolition/re-purposing the buildings.”

The Board of Supervisors did not vote to demolish the long-vacant 1956 courthouse until March 18, 2025, when it approved a 4-1 motion to move forward with demolition while directing staff to explore potential future uses for the site. Demolition is currently projected for 2026, with environmental review and related work underway.

The December 2024 direction to the consultant occurred well before any public Board deliberation or recorded vote on the options presented in early 2025. Those options included full demolition and parking lot construction, partial demolition with limited re-use, or leaving the building standing pending further budget review. Staff reports and presentations at the time cited high costs associated with asbestos, lead paint, energy inefficiency, and ADA upgrades as reasons renovation was not recommended. Review of relevant records does not support the staff reports and presentations regarding asbestos and lead paint being major problems since most of the asbestos had already been removed in the 1993 and 1996 remodeling projects for the buildings and there was very limited lead-based paint in the buildings. Shasta Unfiltered reported on this issue in a prior article.

A county whistleblower with direct knowledge of the Old Courthouse has separately confirmed that Public Works staff was already advancing the demolition path prior to the Board’s formal consideration. The whistleblower has previously asserted that the building remains suitable for county use and that cost and condition information presented to supervisors was incomplete or overstated.

California and federal regulations require asbestos and hazardous materials surveys before significant renovation or demolition work on older buildings. Commissioning such a survey in advance of a Board decision is not unusual. However, the explicit shift in the December 2024 document to frame the work as being performed “for demolition purposes” provides documentary evidence that staff had already selected demolition as the operative scenario months earlier.

The records form part of a larger production of documents related to the Old Courthouse project, including environmental RFQs, professional services agreements, prior remodeling and annex project files, and presentation materials from 2024 and 2025. Shasta Unfiltered continues to review the full set of records and related materials.

The Board’s March 2025 vote remains the official decision authorizing demolition preparations. The newly examined December 2024 direction, however, raises questions about how early and how firmly the demolition recommendation was developed inside Public Works before it reached elected supervisors for public debate and a recorded vote.