Pine Plains justice makes plea for makeover

PINE PLAINS — There could soon be a new and improved town court, if plans for a grant application come to fruition, according to Town Justice Christi Acker, who appeared before the Town Board Aug. 21 at Town Hall.

“We’re applying for a grant,� she announced. “Basically we want to build a conference room which would act as a holding room for prisoners.�

The fact that there is no such space in the existing courtroom could lead to a “real safety situation,� according to Acker, who referred to a recent shooting in a Rockland County town court, where there were not enough precautions to keep the court personnel safe.

“The state has safety concerns,� she said. “We would at least like a proposal [from the Town Board] so we can get the grant application in [by its Aug. 31 deadline].�

Each year the Pine Plains court has garnered grant money from the justice court system, according to town Supervisor Gregg Pulver.

“We’ve gotten everything from speakers for our PA [public address] system to computers to shredders to all sorts of things,� he said. “The justice side [of the government] is very proactive in giving money out, and this year we want to create space in the storage area for a holding area and conference room.�

There’s a catch, however.

The building code requires an exterior emergency exit. The difficulty lies in the fact that the courtroom is downstairs in the Town Hall building, next to the police department.

“It’s something we looked into and then we considered making the [exit be the] main entrance into the court, but I don’t think that’s doable,� Pulver said. “There’s the fire escape, which is one thing, but the main entrance is totally different. I heard they need the main entrance there and that’s not going to fly.�

So it’s back to the drawing board, but with a sense of optimism, as the town already has some money put aside for the project. In fact, the court currently has $19,000 in its coffers in grant dollars.

“I’m not saying we’re going to do it,� Acker said to the board, “my hope is [that if we are able to build a conference room, or holding area] that the town won’t have to pay for anything.�

According to Pulver, the good news about the grant money is that there’s no set deadline for when it must be spent, so the town has some leeway in terms of designing an appropriate project. The same guidelines apply for the new funds the court is seeking (the amount of which as of yet has not been disclosed).

“I don’t know how much more money we’re looking for,� Pulver acknowledged. “They’ve got $19,000 so far, and that money doesn’t come until we start building. It’s a reimbursement grant. It’s quote, unquote, free money.�

That “free money� is from a grant the town won in 2007, but there’s no fear of it expiring. In addition to having an ambiguous deadline date, according to Pulver, the town can apply for extensions if needed.