STATE SUPREME COURT
Belmont courthouse plans allowed to proceed, for now
Published: November 21, 2009, 12:30 am
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A judge has initially rejected efforts by an Allegany County citizens group to block further work on renovations at the county courthouse in Belmont.
Ruling Friday in Buffalo, State Supreme Court Justice Patrick J. Ne- Moyer turned down requests by Allegany County Citizens for Responsible Government for a preliminary injunction or a temporary restraining order to block the state-mandated project as too costly and environmentally unsound.
But NeMoyer scheduled further proceedings for Dec. 14 to consider the group’s request for a permanent injunction against the project.
Allegany County officials plan to award a contract by mid-December to start the first stage of the work in January.
NeMoyer said he found no justification legally or financially to issue an initial injunction sought by Ross Scott, the citizens group’s attorney.
Daniel A. Spitzer, a Buffalo attorney hired to represent Allegany County in the case, and David J. State, the assistant state attorney general who appeared for the state Office of Court Administration, both objected to the group’s last-minute effort.
Spitzer said the citizens group would be required to post a $3.7 million bond to cover any financial losses the county would suffer if the challenge to the courthouse project failed in the courts.
NeMoyer agreed and told Scott that modifying his request to seek a permanent injunction against the court work would not require posting a bond pending the expected appeal by whichever sides loses in the decision he will issue in a month or so.
Allegany County’s 72-year-old courthouse facilities are the last in the state to comply with 1987 state legislation forcing improvements in all court facilities.
The County Legislature has approved about $13.8 million in additions and renovations to the Belmont courthouse, which is currently eligible for landmark status both statewide and nationally. The lowest of nine construction company bids on the work came in last week at $9 million.
David T. Pullen, R-Fillmore, District I legislator and chairman of the Legislature’s Court Facilities Committee, said the county had anticipated bids of about $12.7 million.
After Friday’s hearing in Buffalo, Norman G. Ungermann Jr., R-Cuba, a District 2 legislator, said state Office of Court Administration officials had rejected an alternative plan that would have cost the county only $3.5 million to $4 million and involve using vacant space in the adjacent county building.
Ungermann and Scott said the courthouse and the county building are connected by closed walkways, with a full floor of the county building vacant and ideal for the courthouse additions demanded by the state.
In the court action, Scott is challenging the constitutionality of the manner in which the state Office of Court Administration is forcing Allegany County officials to comply with its renovation mandates.
State court officials have threatened to withhold an estimated $14 million in state-provided court services if Allegany County does not renovate the courthouse.
mgryta@buffnews.com
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