FARMINGTON – Commissioners have asked for further information about a pair of possible solutions to the issues at the Franklin County Courthouse building. One alleviates one of the more pressing concerns, while the other is a larger project which addresses space and safety issues in the long term.
A building committee, comprised of department heads, has been meeting since a $4.46 million bond issue failed to pass in November at referendum by a wide margin. That bond would have paid for the purchase and renovation of the Church Street Commons building, as well as an expansion of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department’s facility. The committee has been seeking ways to address two concerns at the courthouse; a lack of space for county functions and moving the local Emergency Management Agency and District Attorney’s Office personnel out of the basement.
The District Attorney’s Office has been telling commissioners for some time that they intend to move their personnel out of the basement. The county is required to provide the DA’s Office with adequate facilities, and the basement has created a number of comfort and safety issues for those working there, due to problems with leaks, humidity, mold and air quality.
Assistant District Attorney James Andrews presented three downtown properties available for lease, ranging from $9 to $11.50 per square foot. Depending on the payment of utilities, the cost for leasing space for the DA’s Office could cost the county between $15,000 to $25,000 annually, or more. Andrews noted that the numbers were preliminary, and that he would work to develop better ones with the owners.
Moving the DA’s Office, however, does not address the space and fire code issues throughout the rest of the building. The Registry of Deeds has less than six months before its remaining storage space is filled, and department heads say the moisture and humidity issues in the basement make it unfit for maintaining paper records. The department heads, building committee and customers of the Registry of Deeds have expressed a desire to keep the registry in the same building as the Probate Court, as both departments are often accessed by the same people at the same time.
Another issue is a list of fire code violations in the courthouse, which have generally been addressed with temporary, stop-gap measures.
A more extensive proposal would involve the leasing of space at Franklin Fairview, the former Franklin Shoe building at 374 High Street in Farmington. Architects with Smith Reuter Lull have drawn up a preliminary, 10,000 square foot plan which would house the registry, the probate court, county administration and FCEMA. This would allow the DA’s Office to move upstairs at the courthouse, separating county and judicial functions.
The owner of Franklin Fairview, Randy Cousineau, quoted a price of $15 per square foot, assuming a 10-year lease. The number, he said, was effectively a guess; the building committee would have to make a number of decisions regarding the facility’s lighting, acoustics, heating and air conditioning and finishing work. All of this would be paid by Cousineau, who would recoup the costs through the lease. Therefore, in addition to the cost of the renovation process, the duration of the lease is critical to determining an annual cost. The roughly $150,000 estimate goes down if the costs are amortized across a 15- or 20-year period.
Commissioners had mixed reactions to both proposals. Commissioner Gary McGrane of Jay, noted that the $4.46 million Church Street Commons proposal had been soundly defeated at referendum, indicating the general public wasn’t in favor of any facility project. Calling the Fairview option “grandiose,” McGrane voted to proceed with more detailed cost assessments only after he was reassured it wouldn’t cost anything.
“I’m not feeling real comfortable with this situation,” McGrane said. “I’m hesitant to move any more in that direction.”
Instead, McGrane said he was leaning toward moving the DA’s Office out and looking at further improvements down the road.
Commissioner Clyde Barker of Strong, took the opposite view, noting that moving the DA’s Office only delays a real solution.
“If you do that [move the DA’s Office],” Barker said, “you haven’t solved your problem.”
Barker moved to continue research into the Fairview option, which Cousineau thought would take about a month. McGrane seconded, with the understanding no more money would be paid for the research. Meanwhile, Andrews said his office would look to firm up rental option figures.
Realistically, no significant movement could occur until June, after the budget process.
I’m not a Franklin Co. resident but as a land surveyor I make frequent use of the Registry of Deeds. Note that the Kennebec Co. Registry has been paperless since about 2004. The deeds and plans from Book 1 (1799) through today have been scanned and are available on computers at the Registry and online anywhere. That minimizes the need for bookshelves as well as for workspace (the stuff from before ’04 is still there if one needs it).
I also make occasional use of the Registry of Probate, and thus also note that the Deeds and Probate offices in Kennebec County have been located about 800 feet (and two street crossings) apart from each other for several years now. Walking between them is a minor but manageable hassle on rainy days and a pleasant break at other times.
No clue what all this translates to in dollars, so I’m not necessarily advocating anything. But this all seems pertinent.
have the inmates tear down the building, use the material to build homeless shelter for the locals.like retired folks that need a roof over there heads, soliders that lost there homes foreclosed while they were fighting for our freedom….