District Judge James Haggerty is seen in a file photo. Luzerne County Court officials are seeking approval to relocate the Haggerty’s offices from Kingston to the county-owned West Side Annex in Forty Fort.
Times Leader file photo
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Luzerne County Court officials are seeking approval to relocate the offices of District Judge James Haggerty from Kingston to the county-owned West Side Annex in Forty Fort.
Court officials say the move to a county-owned property will save $24,000 annually in outside rent and utility costs. The current magisterial office location on the second floor of a property at 500 Wyoming Ave. also has no elevator and does not meet requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to a draft relocation petition prepared by the county Court of Common Pleas.
A public hearing and approval by the state Supreme Court are necessary because the new location would be approximately two miles outside Haggerty’s magisterial district, which covers Edwardsville and Kingston.
The move also would place two magisterial offices under the same roof because District Judge David Barilla’s offices are in the West Side Annex, which is at 2009 Wyoming Ave. by the county-owned Wyoming Valley Airport. The petition said the two would maintain separate offices, staffing and other facilities.
A public hearing to accept comments on the proposed change will be held at 2 p.m. on Feb. 10 at the county courthouse, 200 N. River St., in Wilkes-Barre.
In addition to the savings and ADA compliance, the Forty Fort location has more parking for citizens, staff and police and is already well-known by the public and law enforcement as an existing magisterial court location, the petition said.
Court officials would ensure the new space for Haggerty’s court is equipped with necessary security features, it said.
The West Side Annex also houses the county Veteran Affairs Office and a shared-ride van service run by the county Transportation Authority.
Transportation Authority Board Chairman Charles Sciandra said space won’t be needed in the West Side Annex for the van service when the authority consolidates its operations in the new $58 million operations facility at the former Murray Complex site in Wilkes-Barre. Completion is expected by late 2023 or early 2024.
County Court Administrator Paul Hindmarsh said there already is adequate space for the second magisterial office at the West Side Annex.
Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.