County panel backs keeping new court facility downtown

BANGOR – Penobscot County officials voted Tuesday to endorse a resolution calling for the state to fully consider locating a new court facility on the existing county property and not out of the downtown area as is feared.

The unanimous decision by the three Penobscot County commissioners endorses a proclamation approved Monday night by the Bangor City Council.

In voting approval for the measure, Chairman Peter K. Baldacci said Tuesday the resolution “will send the strongest message that will show we’re on the same page, and the city and the county are united on this.”

The vote came the same day that a state-sponsored advertisement appeared in the Bangor Daily News asking for property owners in the Bangor area to submit by Jan. 21 prospective sites for a new court facility.

County and city officials have expressed concern, and in some cases anger, at what they feel is the state’s pursuing locations without fully considering the existing property.

Bangor City Manager Ed Barrett urged the county commissioners, who don’t always see eye to eye with the city, to join the city in a more aggressive involvement in the process.

“I think we’re going to have to be more aggressive in reaching out to them and making sure that they’re not going away and coming back every six months or so and saying, ‘Here’s our decision,'” Barrett said Tuesday.

State officials have said that no decision has been made, but have made it clear that renovating the existing facilities or building on the current county-owned property would be more expensive than building it elsewhere.

Commissioner Tom Davis argued that moving it off the existing county property will mean increased transportation and security costs for bringing the inmates between the jail and the courts.

State court officials have said that, in the future, some court appearances could be held by television, with the inmates remaining in jail

State Rep. Pat Blanchette, D-Bangor, who attended Tuesday’s commissioners meeting, said she expected that the courts would have a tough sell if they planned to place the new court building outside the city’s downtown.

She also said the state hadn’t considered all of the possibilities with the existing property, including the options of blocking off the Court Street intersection at Hammond Street and forming a cul-de-sac, offering more space, convenience and parking.

Plus, she said, the state wouldn’t have to go out and try to buy privately held property, as it would be dealing with the county and city.

“Damn it, we own this land, this is ours,” Blanchette told the commissioners.