By ROBERT BOYER

SEBRING - With a few snips of a red-white-and-blue ribbon, the Highlands County Public Defender's Office officially opened Tuesday morning.

The new 5,000-square-foot office ends a 20-year-plus odyssey for the county's assistant public defenders, who were housed in several spots after losing their spot inside the county courthouse in the late 1980s. For the past 15 years, the office was housed in a rickety triple-wide mobile home near the present office at 520 Fernleaf Ave.

In addition to a small law library, a deposition room and a conference room, the new digs offer offices for eight lawyers and four support staff. "As public defenders, we don't need much. We just need a place to serve our clients," said James Moorman, the public defender for Florida's Tenth Judicial District.

Construction costs for the new building totaled $632,000, or $18,000 less than the estimated $650,000 price tag, Highlands County Administrator Rick Helms said during the brief 10:30 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony outside the main entrance.

The building, constructed by Henkelman Construction Inc., of Lakeland, was finished ahead of schedule, Helms added.

Highlands County Commission Chairwoman Barbara Stewart called the project "a great example of a true design build."

Rex Dummig, the office's administrative division director, said the building was constructed with space for additional assistant public defenders and should meet the needs of the office for at least 15 years.

http://www2.highlandstoday.com/content/2011/may/18/public-defenders-office-opens/