NORWICH – The years-long search for additional space to accommodate the Chenango County court system has taken another step forward with a proposed resolution to enter a lease agreement with a private local entity.
The Chenango County Agriculture, Buildings and Grounds Committee has put forward a resolution for County Supervisor Lawrence Wilcox to enter a lease agreement with a local private entity, the name of which has yet to be made public. Should decision-makers follow through with a lease agreement, the newly acquired courtroom space will be home of the county’s family, surrogate, and drug courts, as well as court clerks, the court library, and all respective staff.
According to County Attorney Alan Gordon, this is the first major attempt to relocate the Chenango County offices of New York’s Sixth Judicial District since local legislatures were mandated by the New York State Unified Court System to find additional square footage to accommodate for a growing number of county, family and surrogate court cases.
The resolution - with lease details - will be voted on by the county Board of Supervisors during its monthly meeting on Monday.
“The law requires us to provide adequate space and abilities for the local courts and the system provides specific standards to adhere to those abilities,” Gordon explained. “The possibility exists that this agreement may also include some other county employees going with them - ones that would be a natural fit with court facilities, like the district attorney and the county attorney.”
Subsequent to moving the courts from their current location on the third floor of the Chenango County Office Building, Gordon said officials are pondering the possibility of moving the county’s alcohol and drug abuse clinic from its rented location on Leilani Way in Norwich to the freed-up space presently taken up by court offices.
Counties have been required to provide office space for the courts since the creation of the unified court system in 1977. In Chenango County, the law requires 12,100 square feet of space - about what’s available on the third floor of the county office building.
A special committee formed to study the additional office needs of New York’s Sixth Judicial District had considered a list of nine possible venues in the county’s seat in November. In 2012, the county board also considered the acquisition of the former home of Morrisville State College Norwich extension on North Broad Street, but ultimately determined that would not be a viable solution.
County Supervisor Wilcox said he hopes a new lease agreement will be a “long-term fix” to a longstanding problem.
“I’m glad to see that the committee has something that we can take before the full board,” he said. “This has been an ongoing ordeal. I think that we have come to a conclusion that will be acceptable and we are very happy to see it moving forward.”