NorthwestJuly 20, 2000

Associated Press

BOISE -- The Idaho Capitol Commission has capped months of planning and public hearings in the historic signing of a master plan for a Statehouse facelift, then got down to the nuts and bolts of paying for it.

The project is scheduled to completed by 2005, the centennial of the beginning of the Capitol's construction.

"What the master plan shows is, what we're talking about, isn't carpet and curtains but the very ability of the building to be useful for the state in the next 50 to 100 years, as well as serve as a grand symbol for Idaho," Commission Chairman Roy Eiguren said Wednesday.

The master plan is a detailed list of guidelines from the CSHQA architectural firm of Boise and Isthmus Architecture of Wisconsin.

It would renovate the structure, install fire sprinkler and fire alarm systems, restore deteriorated interior and exterior surfaces, replicate old fixtures and make dozens of other improvements. It also would allow for a sophisticated communications network throughout the building.

"The professionals have gone from the eagle on top to the bowels of the basement to determine what needs to be repaired," Eiguren said.

The commission deferred some decisions to state leaders. It will inform Gov. Dirk Kempthorne and legislators about the available office space in the Statehouse, but allow them to decide which agency goes where.

That deliberation also will involve available space at the adjacent old Ada County Courthouse, which the state has purchased and is not part of the commission's responsibility.

The renovation also could dovetail with the city of Boise's efforts to beautify Capitol Boulevard. State Street on the eastern side of the Statehouse may eventually be closed down to create a pedestrian mall encircled by state buildings.

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The commission declined to pencil into the plan a seismic study of the Capitol's vulnerability to earthquakes. Jeff Shneider of CSHQA said such a survey would be very expensive. Commission member Will Storey of Sun Valley pointed out that a key question is which parts of the building would fall off during a temblor and the restoration will secure those objects.

Eiguren said the cost of sprucing up the Capitol has been estimated from $35 million to $65 million. He unveiled a draft funding scheme put together with businessman Doug Dorn, the governor's staff and others, which could produce $54 million to that end.

A one-time appropriation from the General Account's projected surplus or a series over five years would supply $20 million.

A capitol endowment fund was recently established for the project and currently holds about $4 million. One option is a continuing stream of payments from the sale of timber on capitol endowment lands. The other alternative is selling the endowment's 7,000 acres of timber to the public school endowment fund.

The Idaho State Building Authority would issue bonds generating $20 million, the debt service paid by the capitol endowment.

The national Historic Trust Fund before Congress could generate $2 million.

The state also has contracted with First Counsel Inc. of Charlotte, N.C. for $45,000 to raise money from the private sector. The commission's goal is to amass about $10 million in that fashion.

Eiguren said First Counsel is identifying dozens of perspective donors in Idaho.

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