SACO — A bill that could mean significant modernization of court facilities here and in two other Maine counties has been submitted for consideration in the upcoming January session by Sen. Linda Valentino, D-Saco.
It would address court facilities in York, Waldo and Oxford counties.
The bill is currently in concept form, and is being submitted now, ahead of cloture – the deadline for bills to be considered – which takes place Thursday. All legislation proposed for the upcoming session will be presented to the Legislative Council for approval.
Valentino has been a member of the York County Court House Advisory Committee, appointed by Chief Justice Leigh Saufley, along with several other area legislators and members of the public, which convened in 2014.
The biennial budget passed last session included $300,000 to conduct a court feasibility study in Waldo, Oxford and York counties; the results of those studies are due in December.
Valentino, in a telephone interview Tuesday, said she submitted L.R. 2316 in concept, with specific details to be included once the feasibility study is released.
York County Superior Court sits at York County Court House in Alfred. As well, there are three district courts, in Biddeford, Springvale and York.
The York County Courthouse Advisory Committee estimated it needs 10-15 court rooms overall.
Valentino said the feasibility study could conclude the current building in Alfred, which is owned by York County and not the state, should be replaced with what Valentino described as a central facility, or whether operations should continue in Alfred.
The bill will address similar issues in Oxford and Waldo counties.
“These court facilities are in critical need of repairs in order to maintain efficient, timely, and safe access to justice,” said Valentino in a prepared statement. “After thorough examination of the significant challenges facing our court facilities, it is time we made fixing them a priority.”
— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less