By Tricia Pursell
MIDDLEBURG — Union-Snyder President Judge Harold F. Woelfel Jr. wants more room in the Snyder County Courthouse.
But the county commissioners are hesitant about granting him that space because of uncertainties surrounding the state’s budget.
“Twenty percent of my time is going to be spent on drug and DUI court,” Woelfel said during Tuesday’s commissioners’ meeting. Every Wednesday morning is spent working with drug court cases, he said, and an expected grant to pay for a DUI court in the county will take up his Wednesday afternoons.
And once Union County Judge Louise O. Knight becomes a senior judge after her retirement in January, the county will be able to bring her in to help when the number of cases begins to add up, he said.
However, with only one courtroom, that is not feasible, Woelfel said.
“You can’t be running two courtrooms in Snyder County if we don’t have a mini-courtroom,” he said.
Union County has two courtrooms.
And when two probation officers are added to control the DUI court program, they will have no place to work, Woelfel said. “We have to have a place to put them,” he said.
But uncertainty in the state budget made Commissioners Joe Kantz and Malcolm Derk uneasy about making an immediate decision about courthouse space. Commissioner Richard “Bud” Bickhart did not attend the meeting.
Whether money will be received for a DUI court, and as a result, for two new probation officers will not be known until the budget is passed, Derk said.
Woelfel is hoping for a $150,000 grant through the state Department of Transportation for the DUI court and another $338,000 from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. Eighty-five percent of that money would be used for treatment, he said.
“I don’t feel comfortable making decisions about space right now,” Derk said. “We don’t want to have a space that isn’t utilized on a regular basis.”
Kantz said the county is awaiting word about a grant through the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for windows and lights for the courthouse.
“I want to know where that’s going first,” he said, adding that he saw the need for additional space. “Unfortunately, probation continues to grow.”
The commissioners agreed to seek proposals from consultants to make better use of courthouse space. Woelfel and Chief Probation Officer Craig Fasold said depending on the price, their state-funded department may be able to pay for the consultant.
