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Letter to the Editor: Response to Possible Closure of 14-3 District Court in Chelsea

Letter to the Editor:
I am writing this letter in response to a recent meeting between the City of Chelsea and Washtenaw County officials regarding the closure of the 14-3 District Court facility located in downtown Chelsea.

(See county presentation materials for more information at the end of this letter.)

First, I would like to thank Commissioner Maciejewski for his well reasoned remarks and I hope for his future support to keep a court facility in Chelsea. Next, I would like to share some history on how a court facility ended up in Chelsea.

When the District Courts were created by State Statute in 1969, the statute stated that any municipality of a certain population that wanted a court in their community shall have one. The Village of Chelsea opted to have one located here.

It was located in the Glacier Bank building and functioned very well for the times. Early on there were courts located in the Village of Dexter and Whitmore Lake in their fire stations, in Manchester in the rear of the Village offices, in Saline on the second floor of their City offices, the City of Ypsilanti offices and Pittsfield Township at the County service center. Over time, some of these locations were abandoned and court activities redirected to other locations. Because of its prime location on the I-94 / M-52 corridor the Chelsea court was not considered for abandonment.

Sometime in the 1980’s, the County decided the current court facility needed upgrading but they wanted the local and surrounding municipalities to help, and help we did. Each of the surrounding municipalities and the Village of Chelsea contributed $90,000.00 each over a period of three years to renovate the building. In other words, this Courthouse is a Community Courthouse and any discussions regarding its future should involve all the communities that are being served by it in its present location.

There are serious financial and personal implications for our citizens in moving our court from Chelsea to Saline. First, it is over 20 miles and that doesn’t include the far reaches of the townships. This can create travel hardships for those with limited means of mobility.

Attorneys charge by the billable hour, which would increase the costs to the average citizen and municipalities who must do business in the court. Our police officers, if on duty when they must appear in court, are literally unavailable for service to the community for half of a day while still being paid. And if off duty, the longer it takes to get to court the more it costs our citizens.

The county has tried to close our court before and decided against it when the community spoke up against it. If the facility is lacking in space or parking, then let’s figure out a different location either inside the city or immediately abutting the city. In the meantime, the discussions should include all the surrounding communities not just the City of Chelsea.

James Drolett
Dexter Township Resident

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