By TAMMY WELLS

Senior Staff Writer

ALFRED — Legislation sponsored by Rep. Barry Hobbins, D-Saco, and co-sponsored by a number of others, including leadership in both political parties would be the first tangible step in securing new court facilities in York County if approved.

Hobbins sees it as an important one.

“It’s a major step,” Hobbins said Monday. He pointed out that if L.D. 1260 is approved, it begins a process that will culminate in court facilities that are sorely needed here.

“If it’s done right, we in York County will finally have a facility that meets all of our (court) needs,” Hobbins said.

And, he pointed out, it has the support ”“ in fact the bill originated with the judiciary. Hobbins agreed to sponsor it.

L.D. 1260, the subject of a public hearing in Augusta Wednesday, would set aside $300,000 this year for architectural feasibility studies to improve court facilities in York, Oxford and Waldo counties. The hearing is set for 10 a.m. before the judiciary committee, of which Hobbins is a member.

“People in York County should view it as good news,” said Mary Ann Lynch, spokeswoman of the Maine Judicial Branch, of L.D. 1260.

She said if L.D. 1260 is approved, the judiciary will be back before the Legislature with a plan early next session.

Lynch said the state’s courts are being improved over time. A new facility in Kennebec County has just opened, and workers are completing a large addition to the Washington County Court House, she pointed out. The study, if approved, will determine in which order each of the three counties’ court needs will be met.

A York County Court House Advisory Committee formed last year came to the conclusion that the county needs 12 to 15 court rooms to handle the volume of cases.

In York County, the study proposed by L.D. 1260 will examine the need; whether the courts should be consolidated, whether there is one large court and smaller ancillary courts, and the costs involved, said Hobbins.

Back in November, the courthouse advisory committee, meeting at York County Superior Court House in Alfred, agreed that York County needs and deserves, in the words of Chief Justice Leigh Saufley, a new court building.

York County currently operates with four court buildings ”“ the district courts in Biddeford, Springvale and York, and the Superior Court in Alfred, which operates in the county-owned York County Court House.

York County Court House was originally build in 1806 and expanded on three occasions: in 1854, 1896 and 1917, according to historical records. A fire swept through the building in 1933.

The York County Court House building houses some county operations and county employees, like the registries of deeds and of probate and the clerical staff for the York County District Attorney’s Office. It contains offices of the district attorney and assistant prosecutors, who are state employees. It is also the location of the state judicial operation called York County Superior Court, which includes judges, the court clerk and staff. The building has two courtrooms, a large courtroom on the second floor, and a much smaller courtroom on the first floor.

Recently, jury pools of more than 49 people were moved to the large courtroom, because the basement area was made off limits ”“ it doesn’t have a second exit and has no sprinkler system.

The advisory committee estimated York County requires 12 to 15 courtrooms for all of its work, including both the district and superior court levels.

The advisory committee has also determined that a new court building would allow the creation of a unified docket, which may shorten the time it takes from the start of a criminal case to final disposition.

In a November advisory committee meeting, Saufley pointed out that in 2013, cases in York County Superior Court took an average of 253 days to resolve, while those in York County’s three district courts took an average of 139 days. In nearby Cumberland County, which operates on a unified docket, and has slightly more cases than York County, cases take an average of 107 days, Saufley said.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324”“4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282”“1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].