County closes court office in Springfield

The one-day-a-week Windsor County court office located in the bottom floor of the Springfield Town Hall has closed.
http://rutlandherald.com/article/20140522/NEWS02/705229917

Published May 22, 2014 in the Rutland Herald County closes court office in Springfield By SUSAN SMALLHEER Staff Writer SPRINGFIELD — The one-day-a-week Windsor County court office located in the bottom floor of the Springfield Town Hall has closed. Springfield Town Manager Bob Forguites said Windsor County Side Judges Jack Anderson and David Singer decided to close the experimental office because of lack of traffic. That, and that one staffer was recently hired by the town of Springfield as assistant town clerk, Forguites noted. “That didn’t help, but she came out on top of our selection process,” said Forguites, referring to Maxine Aldrich, who was hired by new Town Clerk Barbara Courchesne. The court office was located in the former Springfield Police Department, which moved five years ago to its new location on Clinton Street. Forguites said the court office, which handled paperwork and payments for court fines, probate and civil matters, was only open one day a week. The office opened in December 2011. “They weren’t getting the volume of traffic they wanted,” said Forguites, who noted the county paid Springfield $700 a month to rent the space. “They had wanted to try opening an office in Springfield,” he said. Windsor County is served by the criminal and family court located in White River Junction, and civil and probate court are located in Woodstock. Forguites said the town and the court shared the expenses of the light renovations made to the former police department before the court opened the small office, including painting and partially removing a wall to open up more space. The town manager said the town would be open to a compatible use of the space. “The court being there was a good match,” he said. The police department bond issue to pay for the purchase of the former Lucas Industries building and its renovation also included money to renovate the first floor of the town hall to accommodate the town’s finance department, but that has never happened. Court officials in Woodstock referred comment on the decision to Anderson, who couldn’t be reached Wednesday afternoon.