Justice Center finds new home in Springfield

Springfield Town Manager Tom Yennerell and Executive Secretary Donna Hall spent Friday afternoon at town hall hoisting plastic cartons filled with old town records out of a basement storage room.
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Justice Center finds new home in Springfield By ALLAN STEIN | Sep 19, 2015 Photo by: Allan Stein Springfield Town Manager Tom Yennerell hoists a boxful of old town records to make way for the Springfield Restorative Justice Center. SPRINGFIELD — Springfield Town Manager Tom Yennerell and Executive Secretary Donna Hall spent Friday afternoon at town hall hoisting plastic cartons filled with old town records out of a basement storage room. Yennerell said they were just clearing the way for the arrival of employees of the Springfield Restorative Justice Center next month. "We are the only two people who can handle [records] and decide what stays and what goes. There are a lot of duplicates here," said Yennerell, sporting a white T-shirt and jeans. In three other rooms across the basement hallway volunteers pitched in, cleaning and brushing the walls with new coats of white paint. "I will feel much better about it when it's pretty much done," said Restorative Justice Center Executive Director Wendy Germain. "I'm excited to be making it the new justice center." The town offered to rent the four basement rooms to the Justice Center, currently located in the Historic Bank Block at 56 Main St., at a more affordable $550 a month. The $6,600 in annual rent will go into the town coffers and support the budget, Yennerell said. While it's not a lot of money, the monthly savings will enable the Justice Center to hire a fourth full-time employee, Germain said. Up until now, the basement at town hall has been pretty much empty. Years ago, it served as the town police station, then housed the superior and probate courts. Germain said there is less space now for the center's current three-person staff, but it's plenty to work with. The Springfield Restorative Justice Center, a town agency, was established about 12 years ago as an intermediary between public offenders and the victims of crime. The center is part of the Community Justice Network of Vermont. The center also works with local organizations and individuals to provide peaceful conflict resolution addressing crime and building a safe and healthy community. Programs include restorative probation, community re-entry, school-based restitution justice, and juvenile pre-charge. Germain said the center's budget is comprised of grants from the Vermont Agency of Human Services. The move should be completed by Oct. 1, she said.