COURTHOUSE OFFICIALS MOVE ON QUAKE REPAIRS : NEWHALL CUTS RED TAPE BY USING LOCAL FUNDS.

Byline: Laurence Darmiento Daily News Staff Writer

Tired of the red tape that has held up earthquake repairs for almost a year at Newhall Municipal Courthouse, officials here have decided to spend $10,000 in local funds to fix the problem.

Over the weekend, workers laid down new tile on a section of the courthouse lobby that had buckled in June, apparently the result of ground settling related to the January 1994 Northridge Earthquake.

In addition, new concrete was poured on a sidewalk that had risen - causing an employee to trip and break her ankle shortly before Christmas - according to Ed Bradley, the court administrator.

``We had every expectation that all of that was going to be fixed. It was truly a hazard,'' Bradley said. ``We just couldn't wait. We have been frustrated by the process.''

The buckling of the floor raised questions last year about the stability of soil beneath the 1970s-era courthouse.

While the settling, which seems to have stopped, might just be minor, officials have said it also could be a forewarning of more serious problems requiring additional soil compaction.

Some initial studies were completed, but repairs were delayed until county engineers took soil samples. Promised in August, the tests have yet to be performed, Bradley said.

``We have been putting up with some pretty serious safety hazards around here on the representation . . . they were moving on getting them fixed,'' he said. ``There is just no real good excuse for it. We do not have an official (geologic) report, but the decision was made to go forward.''

Judge Floyd Baxter, the court's presiding officer, ordered the repair funds taken out of the court's own budget, he said.

Wardell Molina, a building maintenance and repair administrator for the county's Internal Services Department, said he sympathized with the plight of the courthouse employees.

``I understand their frustration, but the Newhall Court is not the only one with that problem,'' he said. ``We are waiting for FEMA repair money, and it all takes time.''

Inspectors with the Federal Emergency Management Agency have inspected the courthouse and ordered geologic and engineering studies, but those funds have yet to be approved, he said.

The courthouse initially suffered more than $200,000 in damage in the earthquake, and was closed for several weeks. Much of that damage, including cleaning up asbestos that was shaken loose from ceiling rafters, was immediately repaired.