Out of Session: B-Spa Village Court House deemed Unsafe for Occupation 

The Ballston Spa Village Court is in new quarters after their current building was deemed unsafe for habitation by an engineer. 

The determination was announced on Sept. 22 by Ballston Spa Mayor Frank Rossi in a Facebook post. In the same post, Rossi announced the Village would hold a special meeting to approve contingencies for continuing court operations in light of the closure. 

In the post, Rossi cited several issues impacting the building which led to its closure. Among these included:  water entering the building at the roof, cornice, and fascia, with substantial damage at the rear, apparent mold and a musty odor throughout the building, a south chimney that has separated from the building wall, and a furnace vent connected to that chimney that could not be verified as intact. 

The next day, crews tore down the chimney in question and Rossi confirmed that while the building is unsafe to occupy, there are no concerns about the exterior structure falling or harming the public.

“The bell tower is definitely caving a little bit internally, so I wouldn’t go in there,” Rossi said. “That’s why we’ve got them out of there at this point and trying to get them permanently out of there in terms of files, records, and getting everything together.”

During the meeting, which was held on Sept. 23, The Village Board of Trustees approved several resolutions to handle the change in venue. In total four resolutions were passed by the board. 

Under the resolutions, court functions would be spread out across four properties. Regularly scheduled court sessions would be held in the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors room, located at 40 McMaster in an agreement that would go from September 27 through March 31, arraignments would be held at the Milton Town Court, located at 345 Rowland Street in an agreement that would go from September 27 through March 31 and court records storage and other administrative functions would be handled in leased space at 199 Milton Avenue units five and eleven. 

If the Milton Town Court is unable to handle an arraignment, however, arraignments could also be handled at 199 Milton Avenue. If this were to take place, additional law enforcement personnel would be required in these cases as the building is not currently set up to handle these matters. 

The final resolution authorized the village to apply for $30,000 in grants to digitize court records. 

While all resolutions passed unanimously, speakers during public comment expressed concerns that the building on 30 Bath Street was allowed to fall into disrepair and questioned the mayor and Board of Trustees about the process. They specifically questioned the timing of the special meeting, which took place during most people’s working hours.

As for the future of the court, Rossi said that before a permanent home for the court is sought, the village will first look at what the long-term plans are for County offices located in the village to see if they’re planning on relocating, something that has been a topic of discussion since the county issued a request for proposals for a possible new office building in June.