Petersburgh has received a grant from the Justice Court Assistance Program, a State program which provides grants to assist local courts with equipment, training, and facilities. The grant is for $26,650, to be used to convert the meeting room in the Northwest corner of the Town Hall into a courtroom. This includes construction work, furniture, security cameras, and other things necessary to a proper courtroom.
[private]Town Justice Amy Manchester wrote the grant application, and she said she was very excited to learn that it was successful.
Manchester said the check just arrived this week, so the detailed planning is just getting started. The new courtroom will have a separate entrance from the Judge’s chambers to the bench, by cutting in a door from the existing office of the Justices to the courtroom.
Petersburgh’s Town Court already owns a scanner to check people for weapons when they come into the court, but they have not been able to use it because they need a trained person to operate it. They will have that person now that a constable has been appointed who will be attending all sessions of the the court, so the scanner will be incorporated into the design of the new courtroom. The scanner was given to Petersburgh by the North Greenbush Town Court.[/private]