DECISION ON COURTHOUSE PLAN LOOMS : PANEL TO VOTE ON DESIGN FUNDING FOR NEW BUILDING.

Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer

City Council members tonight will consider earmarking $150,000 for the design of a courthouse that would accommodate civil proceedings and help revitalize downtown.

``The next step is we need some assurance by the county it will be used -we don't want a `if you build it, they will come kind of thing,' '' said Councilman David Myers.

The 18,000-square-foot courthouse would be a one-story building with four courtrooms, staff areas and a multipurpose room, a city staff report said.

Los Angeles County officials have indicated an interest in a Palmdale courthouse, which would handle lawsuits and other civil cases that now are transferred to the San Fernando Valley or Los Angeles because the Lancaster courthouse is busy with criminal cases, city officials said.

City Council will consider the design contract at a meeting at 7 p.m. today in council chambers, 708 E. Palmdale Blvd.

City Council is considering contracting with Ewing Architects Inc., a Pasadena firm that designed the Palmdale Playhouse, to work on the courthouse.

The preliminary estimate for the courthouse project is $2.3 million. The city put $2 million into a fund last year for a new City Hall. With the new City Hall on hold indefinitely pending contributions from developers, city officials could elect to use the money for the courthouse project.

There is $300,000 in a fund restricted solely for the new City Hall that also could be used. The money would pay for a parking lot that would be shared by the courthouse and the new City Hall.

Palmdale is negotiating to acquire a -3/4-acre site now occupied by houses and apartments at Ninth Street East and Avenue Q-10. The site could be used for the courthouse, helping to bring business into downtown, Myers said.