DURHAM HAS MANAGED to keep its district court open, while Laconia couldn't get the state to take its over.

The Bureau of Court Facilities has recommended merging Durham District Court with the district courts of Dover, Somersworth and Rollinsford in the newly built Dover District Courthouse, which opened in October 2002. But Durham officials pushed during this budget session to keep that from happening, and succeeded. The town estimates that it would be forced to spend as much as $40,000 a year in transportation costs to have its cases heard in Dover, and would lose the $33,280 a year it receives from the state for its lease of the courthouse building.

The Dept. of Administrative Services this budget session removed funding for Durham District Court as part of the plan to consolidate. The House Finance Committee, however, put that funding back in and Durham District Court continues to operate. Had the court's funding been cut, it would have meant Durham, Lee, Madbury and University of New Hampshire cases would have to be heard in Dover, or those towns and UNH could have absorbed the cost of keeping the Durham court open.

Meanwhile, in Laconia, city officials failed in their attempt to have the state take over ownership of the historic building that houses the Laconia District Court, rather than continuing to lease the building from the city - although talks continue. The request came about because of much-needed costly renovations the building requires. According to Peter Goodwin, administrator of the Bureau of Court Facilities, a proposal in the state budget to allocate $250,000 for repairs to the court and have the state take over ownership failed, so the city maintains ownership. Laconia officials said that if the proposal failed, the city would likely enter another one-year lease with the state and postpone the repairs. According to NH District Court Administrative Justice Edwin Kelly, discussions continue between city officials and the state over the state's taking ownership of the facility.

The Laconia courthouse building was originally built in 1886, as the first high school in Laconia. The court occupies about one-third of the building, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. As a courthouse, the building is fraught with structural and safety problems. There are also "comfort" issues - there is no heat on the second floor, the air conditioning does not work and the old building is very drafty. Last year, the city and state had to split the $5,000 cost to repair the court's boiler.

City officials have an estimate of $400,000 to $800,000 in renovations needed for the courthouse, a figure that can't be touched by the $22,000 a year the city receives for leasing the building to the Bureau of Court Facilities.

Kelly said Laconia District Court is among the ten busiest district courts in the state and has one of the fastest-growing caseloads. Surprisingly, it is also the only district court in Belknap County, serving nine towns.

In Newport, a new district court opened in April, replacing a building that was deemed inadequate for court facilities, according to state standards. At 2,700 square feet, the old courthouse was well below the state guideline of 6,000-7,000 square feet; the clerk's office, judge's chambers and other facilities were all cramped and considered inappropriate.

The new $575,000 courthouse has conference space, a separate entrance for defendants, public restrooms and enough space to separate juveniles from older offenders.

About $350,000 in donations from local residents helped to fund the project.

There is ongoing discussion that could determine whether the new court ends up being a temporary facility. State law calls for the consolidation of the Newport and Claremont district courts into one court facility, but Claremont State Rep. John Cloutier has introduced a bill, co-sponsored by Newport Rep. Beverly Rodeschin, that would keep the courts separate. The proposal was being reviewed by a study committee that did not act on it, Kelly said, and he expects it to be the subject of legislation again in the upcoming session. If the bill succeeds, Claremont District Court would serve Claremont, Cornish, Unity, Charlestown, Langdon, Acworth and Plainfield; and Newport District Court would serve Croydon, Newport, Springfield, Goshen, Lempster, Washington, Sunapee and Grantham.

The only other court facilities change on tap will take place in Carroll County this October, if all goes according to plan, said Goodwin. Construction on the new Carroll County Courthouse in Ossipee, which will house the Carroll County Superior and Probate courts and Southern Carroll County District Court, began last fall, and the 12- to 14-month project is expected to be completed in mid- to late-October. Southern Carroll County District Court serves the towns of Brookfield, Effingham, Freedom, Moultonborough, Ossipee, Sanbornville, Sandwich, Tamworth, Tuftonboro, Wakefield and Wolfeboro.

The state decided to consolidate the three courts in Carroll County in order to share resources and reduce costs, part of a statewide movement to consolidate court facilities where possible. Goodwin said that from a court facilities standpoint, there are "only positives" to consolidation - despite the resistance to it from some communities. "Some of our courts are in deficient facilities, and by consolidating we are able to upgrade the facilities, as well as bringing courts that formerly were renting space together in a state-owned facility," Goodwin said. "We want to bring the courts into state-owned facilities where we can."

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