Action sought on new Dover-Foxcroft courthouse

DOVER-FOXCROFT – Piscataquis County commissioners on Tuesday told a state court official that there is a “sense of urgency” in the county for some action on a new courthouse in Dover-Foxcroft.

The commissioners advised Norman Ness, director of court facilities, that they were impressed with Franklin County’s courthouse, which they had visited last week.

Commissioner Eben DeWitt said the board agreed that the same type of building would “fill the bill” for Piscataquis County.

“We wanted to express that to you in terms of getting the ball rolling,” Commissioner Eben DeWitt told Ness during a conference call. “We want to get going on it.”

The fact that Franklin County officials find it satisfactory to work from separate superior and district court facilities also was a selling point for the commissioners, who hope to continue the Superior Court operation in the historic courthouse facility, Commissioner “Tony” Bartley noted. A holding facility for prisoners that is separate from the courtroom adds a level of security, he said.

Ness told the commissioners that he would forward their comments to State Court Administrator J. Ted Glessner and to Chief Justice Nancy Mills.

Finding a solution for the overcrowded conditions of the district court facility, for both the public and court employees, has been on the commissioners’ agenda for more than five years. The county purchased a plot of land a few years ago across the courthouse parking lot to accommodate any expansion plans.

The state has put a $7 million price tag on a new facility for Dover-Foxcroft, but a developer believes the facility could be constructed for much less, according to DeWitt.

The commissioners have suggested that the county sell the land acquired in 1999 to Louis Hight of the Skowhegan area, who built the Franklin County facility. He, in turn, would construct the new courthouse that would be leased to the state or the county.

Commissioners hope state officials will move soon on a solution.