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Cumberland County plans to relocate the office of Magisterial District Judge Daniel J. Freedman from its current location at 229 Mill St. near Mount Holly Springs to space being renovated in South Middleton Township.

County commissioners on Monday approved an agreement with Orlo Carlisle Three LLC to lease 3,076 square feet of office space at 417 Village Drive outside Carlisle. Freedman's District Court 09-3-03 covers cases in South Middleton Township, Mount Holly Springs and Dickinson Township.

The agreement is for a term of five years and six months with an option to renew for an additional five years, county Maintenance Manager Brent Durham told the commissioners last week. “The rental payment will not begin until the end of the first six months or upon the move-in date, whichever comes first.

“The reason for the relocation is security driven,” Durham added. “With the new location and renovations, we will be able to address most, if not all, of the security concerns they [the office staff] shared with us.”

While the Mill Street location requires prisoners to be escorted through the main lobby, the Valley Drive location will have prisoners enter the building through a back door and then directly into a holding cell.

At Mill Street, prisoners and local residents have to walk through the staff area to access the same public restroom, Durham said. “This is a huge issue for the potential passing of contraband.” The Village Drive location will have separate restrooms for the public and the prisoners.

Though both locations have space set aside for attorneys to talk to clients, the Mill Street location has access off the lobby while the Valley Drive location will have access through secured doors.

“There are a couple other comparisons,” Durham said. “This new location is about 400 square feet larger. Because of the renovations we are doing, we will be able to right-size some of the rooms. The courtroom will be a little larger. The break room will be a little smaller. They will have a larger storage area.”

At Mill Street, staff members have to stack boxes of files in hallways.

“The square foot price is very comparable to what they have now,” Durham said.

The agreement calls for a rate of $14 per square foot or $43,064 per year for the first half of the five-year lease. This rate increases to $14.42 per square foot or about $44, 356 per year for the second half of the lease.

"With the new location, there will be a much quicker police response time," Durham said. "The [Valley Drive] location is within two minutes of the state police barracks." 

Joseph Cress is a reporter for The Sentinel covering education and history. You can reach him at jcress@cumberlink.com or by calling 717-218-0022.

Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email.

Joseph Cress is a reporter for The Senrinel covering education and history.

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The only magisterial district judge seat up for election this year in Cumberland County is the 09-3-03 seat that represents Dickinson Township…

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