NORWICH – No options are off the table, a representative from the Sixth Judicial District court system said Wednesday during a discussion of utilizing space in the former Chenango County Sheriff’s Office and Jail.
Town supervisors are set to vote Monday on spending about $375,000 plus architect’s fees on the West Park Place buildings. The amount is for demolishing the old cell structure to separate the two buildings, making site improvements, reconstructing the exterior and completing some new construction. Finance Committee Chairman Lawrence Wilcox said Feb. 1 that he hoped the county would be able to find an entity to cover the interior work. The entire project is estimated to cost $2 million.
The Sixth Judicial District is running out of space locally, and if a much hoped for additional multi-bench judge is appointed in the near future, the county will be obligated to come up with more. An assistant for Administrative Judge Judith F. O’Shea said, “Nobody’s going to say any options are off the table.”
“Overlaying all of this is the need to come up with a long-term plan for the courts,” he said.
While members of the Finance Committee were mulling over the project last week, Town of Pharsalia Supervisor Dennis Brown said the court system was no longer interested in ponying up the funds to cover the interior renovations. Town of German Supervisor Rick Schlag asked, “Why?”
Back in 2004, the district offered to pay for engineering studies on the two buildings to ascertain the practicality of renovating them. After entertaining the idea for a few months, the county ultimately opted to hire its own consultant. Since then, funds from the New York State Department of Social Services have filtered down locally and been applied to the cost for heating and renovating the former visitor’s and dormitory spaces. The Chenango County Family Resource Center is currently housed there.
Executive Assistant G. Russell Oechsle said with Social Services now occupying portions of the interior space, there wouldn’t be enough room to house the courts and offices all together in the two separated buildings
“It would appear that our option has been precluded by the county moving forward putting county agencies in the building,” he said.
He also said while it would be to the district’s “benefit” to “maximize the amount of money” the state’s court system might offer for building renovations, there are “strict rules about funding renovations.”
“They are usually minor in nature. Not the large scale process they are talking about,” he said, adding however that “the rules (on the amount) are set by the state legislators.”
In previous meetings to discuss the court system locally, Brown and other members of the Finance Committee attempted to ascertain how much the state would provide the Sixth Judicial District for such renovations. Oechsle did not name a figure.
Hon. Judge O’Shea will pen a letter for the third year in a row to request an additional multi-bench judge to relieve Chenango County Hon. W. Howard Sullivan from “his overloaded schedule.” Oechsle said she believes it to be the “most critical need” in the entire district. “We are being as persistent as we possible can be. It’s a matter of competing with legislators from all over the state,” he said.