Bar Harbor District Court closes doors

BAR HARBOR – Clerk Cheryl Tims lugged brown cardboard boxes filled with color-coded files around the town’s municipal building Friday morning, the day after the closure of Bar Harbor District Court.

“There’s a lot to do, that’s for sure,” she said as she packed up documents.

The small courtroom still looked ready for legal business, filled as it was with the judge’s bench, a lectern, the spectators’ benches and a chalkboard still covered with jotted figures from a recent court case.

But the readiness was misleading.

All of the court’s operations, including Tims’ position, soon will be moved to Ellsworth District Court after decades spent at the Bar Harbor location.

The small court’s fate was sealed last spring when the Legislature voted to cut its funding in order to save the state an estimated $40,000 to $45,000 annually. The state paid the town $26,000 each year to rent the courtroom and office space.

The court met once a week and handled approximately 500 cases a year, compared to the 4,000 cases handled annually at Ellsworth District Court.

District Court has been held in Bar Harbor for decades, Town Manager Dana Reed said. The town will make good use of the freed-up space in the municipal building to fit all the municipal offices on the main floor.

“We’ll be remodeling some office spaces and so forth,” Reed said Friday. “Architects are working on the plans now.”

The renovations likely will be done within the year, Reed said.