Probate Court moves across the street but leaves records behind in Belknap County Courthouse

LACONIA — Belknap County Commissioners Wednesday morning discussed the future use of space in the Belknap County Courthouse which was formerly used by the Probate Court.

The space is now vacant since Probate Court moved into the building next door which houses the 4th Circuit Court-Laconia Division as part of a statewide consolidation of district, family and probate courts into what is now a Circuit Court.

The Circuit Court Probate Division has jurisdiction over a variety of issues including all matters related to wills, trusts and estates, guardianships and involuntary commitment proceedings, adoptions, name changes and partition of real estate.

County Administrator Debra Shackett said that while the Probate Court has moved, it has left behind all of its records in a large vault in the County Courthouse which requires Probate Court workers to walk across the parking lot between the two buildings in order to access records and that they then have to be carried back and forth between the two buildings.

''They practically live in that vault some days.'' Shackett observed.

She said that the state court system had been leasing the office space from the county and wants to continue leasing the vault space.

''What's going to happen when we find some new use for the space?'' Shackett asked commissioners, who said that in the near future they plan to meet in the former Probate Court with representatives from county departments interested in using the space.

NOTES: Commissioners have put off until next month a public meeting at which the final report of the Ricci Greene consulting firm will be discussed by the Community Corrections Planning Committee. . . . . .Commissioners approved a new contract with Mainstay Technologies of Belmont for computer services for the county. Cost of the contract is $6,715 per month. . . . . . Commissioners held a "non-meeting" with their attorney following Wednesday morning's meeting so outsiders were excluded. The commission has been seeking advice from an outside attorney on the issues raised by the Belknap County Delegation's assertion of line item control over the county budget.