Good morning, Chairman Burtenshaw and members of the committee.  I am David H. Bieter, Mayor of the City of Boise, 150 North Capitol Boulevard, and I am here this morning to speak in support of Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 102, the measure to renovate and upgrade the old Ada County Courthouse.

As you know, I had the honor to serve as state Representative from District 19 for five years, from 1999 through 2003.  Throughout that time, no single issue - not school facilities, not abortion, not the pledge of allegiance in schools - no issue generated more letters, emails and calls from my constituents than the prospect that the old Ada County Courthouse at 514 West Jefferson Street, just next door to the state Capitol, might be demolished.

Without exception, the people wanted to see the Courthouse saved.  And I believe they still do.

Over the past four decades, Idaho's capital city has seen too many of its historic landmarks fall victim to the bulldozer and the wrecking ball.  Boise's stately old City Hall, where my predecessors laid the foundations for our municipal government, is gone.  The Pinney Theater, built by one of our city's early mayors, a place that gave this frontier desert outpost its first taste of arts and culture, is gone.  Chinatown, a downtown neighborhood which was a marvelous example of what we today would call "mixed use," is long gone.

Many of these structures succumbed to the notion, so prevalent in the 1960s and '70s, that old is bad and new is good.  Today we know better.  We know that the past has much to teach us about the present and the future.  We know that construction methods and materials from former eras are too expensive or simply unavailable today.  We know that, to put it simply, "They don't build 'em like that anymore."

We know that once a great old building is gone, it's truly gone for good.  And our community, and the whole state, is much the poorer as a result.

The people of Boise are fortunate to have a few grand old structures still with us - the Idanha Hotel, the Union Block building, the Capitol building itself.  The old Ada County Courthouse is another of those miraculous survivors.  Completed in 1939, it is a wonderful example of Works Projects Administration, Art Deco style architecture.  The limestone facade, the walnut and marble interiors, the Depression-era artworks are unique, not just in Boise but in the world.  Indeed, the sweat and tears of these WPA workers and a whole era live on in the old Courthouse. And the structure is not falling apart by any means; to the contrary, this thing was built to last.  I have no doubt that, properly renovated and cared for, it will live not only to see its 100th birthday, but probably its 200th and 300th as well.

I grew up on Eighth Street, just north of Fort.  For me and my family, the Capitol building and the Courthouse were visible from my back yard.  They were truly a part of the neighborhood.  And I believe that many Boiseans continue to feel that way.  No matter where they live, they know that the city skyline just wouldn't be the same without the Courthouse.

Call it nostalgia.  I know many of you believe that the decision whether to renovate and upgrade the old Ada County Courthouse, or to demolish it and construct a new building, ought to be made on more practical grounds, or at least, less aesthetic ones.

Even so, the case for saving the old Courthouse and transforming it into the new Capitol Annex is clear.  Four years ago, a legislative task force recommended that the Courthouse be renovated and expanded to provide additional legislative hearing rooms as well as other much-needed state government offices.  And though the cost of the restoration and expansion project has risen almost $4 million since that recommendation was made, it's still almost $2 million less than the estimated cost to tear down the building and start over.

Indeed, the private sector has recognized the value in preservation.  In addition to several buildings over the last 20 years, the best example is under construction just a few blocks from here up Capital Boulevard - the Bodo Development.  An investment of $60 million shows the viability of preservation, for the unique blend of the old and the new, very close to the plan for renovation of the Courthouse.

Finally, I turn to the best source of wisdom I have known, and that is my mother.  She managed to keep five kids fed and clothed and instilled in us, like I'll bet your mothers did to you, this lesson:  "Don't you dare throw away that shirt, that football jersey, that bike (or any number of things) that has a whole lot of wear left."

Listen to my mother, to your mother.  Don't throw the courthouse away; it has a whole lot of wear left in it.

Thank you, and I'd be happy to take any questions.