County sheriff may relocate Aroostook officials consider move to District Court building

HOULTON – At this point, you can’t find the entire Aroostook County Sheriff’s Department in one place at the Aroostook County Courthouse.

Sheriff Jim Madore and Chief Deputy Craig Clossey are located on the second floor of the courthouse. An office on the first floor houses the law enforcement division, and the corrections division is in yet another part of the building.

But County officials are sketching out a plan to unite all three divisions – and that housing could be found at the Houlton District Court building.

During a recent Aroostook County commissioners meeting, County Administrator Doug Beaulieu addressed the issue when he talked about work that already is under way to permanently move the District Court offices across the street to the Superior Court building.

The second and third floors of the Superior Court will undergo extensive renovation.

A second courtroom will be built on the second floor, and a clerk’s office also will be located on that floor. The building will feature a more secure judge’s chamber, two functioning elevators and a new heating and air-flow system, and will be compliant with standards set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The third floor will house another clerk’s office, the jury deliberation room and a law library.

The move will leave the District Court building virtually vacant, except for a handful of outside agencies that currently rent space in the building. That vacant space could be taken over by the Sheriff’s Department.

During the meeting, Beaulieu said that the consolidation project, while a good thing for Aroostook, also will create logistical problems for the County because the construction work will displace some Sheriff’s Department staffers. While construction is taking place, Madore and Clossey likely will move across the street into the District Court building. The probable move prompted county officials to explore the idea of sending the whole department there – permanently.

“It makes sense to have everyone there,” Beaulieu told commissioners. “It has a lot of appeal.”

Some construction would need to be completed to retrofit space in the building for the department, but Madore said officials believe it could be done at minimal cost to the county.

He added that department personnel are eager for the potential move.

“The staff is really excited about having all of that space,” he said. “We believe we can do the construction phase for not that much money.”

Before the meeting ended, commissioners asked Beaulieu to get figures on how much it would cost to get the Sheriff’s Department settled into the District Court building.