Township wants more cash for sharing court

By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
   WEST AMWELL — Fish and visitors stink after three days.
   Benjamin Franklin said it in the 1700s, but the sentiment is just as relevant today in West Amwell.
   Every once in a while over the past year or so, a township resident wants to know when Lambertville’s Municipal Court is going home.
   The court moved into West Amwell’s township building on Rocktown-Lambertville Road after its own home in the Justice Center on South Union Street was flooded in April 2005. The court moved to West Amwell at the township’s neighborly invitation and has remained there since.
   ”People were understandably frustrated when that time went by,” West Amwell Deputy Mayor Ron Shapella said. “There is the thinking by some, ‘Just tell them to leave,’ and that is not the case. One thing the prior agreement didn’t recognize was the desire to stay in West Amwell is not up to Lambertville or West Amwell. It’s up to the state.”
   Unlike houseguests, the court can’t just decide to pack up and go home.
   Once the move to West Amwell was completed, the state Administrative Office of the Courts must approve the move back to the city’s Justice Center. That requires an inspection, which has not been completed yet, according to Lambertville Mayor David Del Vecchio.
   In 2006, the relationship between West Amwell and Lambertville’s Municipal Court became a paying one. Lambertville agreed to pay $3,600 for six months’ rent. The arrangement meant a $7,200 bill for Lambertville for 2007, which it recently paid to West Amwell.
   ”In the meantime, we came up with a more detailed agreement than the previous one,” Mr. Shapella said.
   The $3,600 invoice for six months goes toward a cleaning service, Mr. Shapella said.
   The proposed changes to the agreement would cover more than just the cleaning service, such as a rate system for use of the main meeting room and a smaller conference room, factoring in the use of copiers and other equipment. The agreement still must be presented for discussion with Lambertville.
   The revised estimated cost for Lambertville to use the township building would be $11,000 per year, including the use of the main meeting room and conference rooms plus a share of the lease for a copier and the cost of cleaning the building.
   In July, Lambertville announced it was preparing to bring the court home.
   ”We don’t really know if they are or not,” Mr. Shapella said.
   But Mayor Del Vecchio insisted, “We are. Unless the court tells us we can’t, we’re proceeding with moving back. We’ll find out what our time frame is, and we’ll talk to them” (West Amwell officials).