Lowville, NY - Under pressure from the chief judge in the north country, Lewis County legislators will meet Tuesday "to decide the site for construction of the new county court facility." The meeting announcement came after Judge James Tormey said he is referring Lewis County to the state's court administration.
Tormey, in three recent letters, has expressed great frustration over the county legislature's back-pedaling on the courthouse.
Should the state take over the project, Lewis County would apparently lose its say in where and how the project is done.
Lewis County's courthouse does not comply with state regulations. In 2004, the legislature agreed to renovate and build an addition behind the existing State Street courthouse.
The current legislature is reconsidering that decision; legislators are interested in building a new courthouse off Stowe Street, near the county jail.
Since it took several years to get agreement and approvals for the expansion on State Street, Judge Tormey (who is the administrative judge for the 5th Judicial District) argues more deliberation will cost money and delay bringing the courts up to standard.
"In light of the board's (in)actions, I no longer have confidence that the present board is serious about this project or that it will engage in a reasoned, productive debate," Tormey wrote.
"The end result, which I tried to prevent, is that this board is creating all the earmarks of a cost-prohibitive project for our citizens, if it ever gets done."
The meeting starts at 5 pm.
