DELHI _ Old issues between the village and town of Delhi have been reignited after a village official wrote that the town courtroom is not safe and should not be used for public assembly.
Delhi Mayor David Truscott said Wednesday that town court officials were told Code Enforcement Officer Dale Downin has determined that the courtroom is not safe, but town and court officials ignored requests to abandon the space.
However, the town has said it takes Downin's report to mean the space can be used under certain circumstances.
Also causing dispute is whether the town should pay the village to use the courtroom, a circumstance brought out of the 2004 dissolution of the village court.
Truscott said the village board was prepared to vote Monday night on a motion to evict the town court, but village attorney David Merzig said there was no reason to vote because if the room is not safe, it can't be used.
Truscott said he left messages for the town justices and the court clerk offering them the first-floor boardroom as an alternate location.
In response, Delhi Town Supervisor Peter Bracci said Wednesday, the Delhi Town Board held a special meeting Tuesday, interpreting Downin's letter to mean court may be held in the courtroom if the occupancy of the room is below the maximum allowed.
Downin's letter to Truscott said, "As per your request, I have inspected the fire escape and the exiting conditions in the court room in the Village Hall and have found that the fire escape is unsafe to use for the amount of people that is allowed in that area."
Bracci said Downin's letter indicates that the inspection "was precipitated by the mayor." With 40 cases pending on the court calendar Wednesday, Bracci said, it was impossible to conduct court in the small boardroom.
"The courtroom is apparently unsafe for the posted maximum of 49 people, so we will make sure there are no more than 48 people there at a time," Bracci said. "We are going to investigate other possible locations for the court, but we cannot and will not move out on a minute's notice.
"The Delhi Town Court is probably the largest court in the county, and we will stay in the village hall courtroom while we are investigating alternatives," he said.
Delhi Town Court has been held in the third-floor courtroom inside the Delhi Village Hall since the village court was dissolved.
To pay, or not to pay?
Truscott said there are other issues causing contention between the town and village.
When the village court was dissolved, Truscott said, a contract between the Delhi town and village established a yearly fee that the town would pay for the use of the courtroom. He said the 2008-09 fee of $3,820 was due April 4, but the town has refused to pay the bill.
Bracci said he sent the Delhi Village Board a letter Monday outlining the town's position that the village and town should not levy charges for intermunicipal services.
The letter argued that the town had provided the village with extensive services from the town code enforcement officer and highway department without charging the village.
"It is our stated belief that people of the town of Delhi that reside in the village should not be charged more than once for services," Bracci wrote.
Bracci said he hopes that the town and village can be more united.
"We have two boards of very different opinions," Bracci said. "We need to be positive, not negative and I would love to have a positive solution to this issue over the court."
Truscott said he is awaiting instructions from Merzig on how to proceed.
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Patricia Breakey can be reached at 746-2894 or at stardelhi@stny.rr.com.
