The closure of a mold-riddled courthouse in Newport is forcing local residents to commute to Bangor instead, but a state representative wants to ensure the courthouse reopens and remains in southern Penobscot County.
The Newport District Courthouse at 12 Water St. closed Jan. 28 to assess and remediate mold in the building. There is no timeline for when it will reopen, judicial branch spokesperson Barbara Cardone said Monday.
Remedies for the mold are still being worked out, Cardone said.
The closure prompted Rep. Kenneth Fredette, R-Newport, to introduce a bill Friday to fund mold remediation and updates to the building, such as ensuring it’s compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The bill would also secure a long-term lease for the courthouse, which has a month-to-month lease.
Reopening the courthouse and keeping it in Newport is vital for area residents, who depend on it for filing divorces, protection from abuse orders, child protection orders and misdemeanor criminal cases. While it’s closed, those who need court services must drive roughly 28 miles from Newport to the Penobscot Judicial Center in Bangor, at 78 Exchange St., to handle matters in person.
Nearby residents are probably more comfortable handling those high-stress issues in the small, local courthouse instead of driving to Bangor, Fredette said Monday. He estimated 15 municipalities and rural areas and tens of thousands of people are served by the courthouse.
“Frankly, someone could show up there today and not even know the courthouse is closed,” Fredette said of the Newport building. “It’s a real challenge to the local community.”
A courthouse is a basic function of government and it’s important to get it back up and running, he said. It’ll help keep the trust the government has with “local, rural people.”
The judicial branch has a month-to-month lease for the Newport courthouse that has been in place for several years, Cardone said.
Fredette said he’s worried that the landlord could decide to stop renting the space to the courthouse. Part of his bill is about ensuring “access to justice in the rural part of southern Penobscot County.”
“There’s no doubt that we will have bipartisan support because this does affect multiple districts, but I think people just see this as a common sense issue, a basic function of government,” Fredette said.
For now, signs in the Penobscot Judicial Center direct people to the third floor for Newport court matters.
“At the end of the day we really just need to get the facility back up and running,” Fredette said.
All dockets are running as scheduled and judges and staff are moving into the new arrangement, Cardone said.
People who are unable to make it to their in-person court date in Bangor should contact the clerk as soon as possible at 207-368-5778, Cardone said. Zoom hearings will continue as scheduled.
Updates about the status of the courthouse will be posted on the court’s website.
