ALFRED – There were no objections, or claims of a mistrial. But that doesn’t mean the roomful of judges, lawyers and anyone else in the York County Bar Association didn’t have a few concerns when it came to the subject of a new consolidated courthouse for York County.

Last week in Courtroom 2 of the current antiquated location, about 50 in attendance listened to Maine Supreme Judicial Court Justice Leigh Saufley explain the latest on L.D. 1528, the bill sponsored by Sen. Linda Valentino, DSaco, that, if passed, would bring a new, up-to-date structure to the county’s court system.

There are three counties that would get new buildings in the proposed $95.6 million appropriation, with $65 million of it earmarked for a 12-courtroom, 1330,000-square-foot facility for York. Waldo and Oxford are the other two.

“I am incredibly excited about it,” Saufley said. “This building has run its course. It is impossible to do justice well in a building this old. It just isn’t working. The public deserve better. The jurors deserve better. People whose lives are at stake deserve better.”

She added that she has not heard of any dissension.

“No one is against better facilities in York County. (The current courthouse) can’t be expanded, by law. It can’t be renovated. Everyone I have talked to absolutely knows we need more resources.”

The state Appropriations Committee is expected to discuss the bill in the next few weeks. If it gives L.D. 1528 the thumbs up then it is on to the House and Senate.

Two of the biggest concerns raised in last week’s crisp 45-minute discussion was where the new courthouse would be built – construction would start in 2017 for a 2020 opening – and what about the inevitable transportation issues for those using the facility.

The site has yet to be determined. A Site Selection Committee, headed by Chief Justice Thomas Humphrey, will make suggestions for the best and most feasible parcel of land. Saufley said eight acres in front of the new York County Jail have been offered at no cost.

Of course public transportation can’t be addressed until the site has been decided, but it was noted that when a new courthouse in Augusta was built, a bus stop dropped those using the court right out front.

“Expect … a broad spectrum of people (to be involved),” Saufley said regarding who would be on the committee. “York County for awhile has been talking about a new plan for public transportation. And, already a small institutional group is looking at it. We need to make sure we connect with everyone and look at the public transportation issue.”

It is likely that York, Biddeford and Springvale district courts will be shuttered and absorbed in the proposed courthouse. But Saufley said those decisions may not be made for five or six years.

During testifying in front of the state Legislature’s Judiciary Committee, Sen. Valentino pointed to a feasibility report that bore shocking statistics: It takes an average of 253 days for a case to make its way through York County Superior Court, compared to only 107 in Cumberland County.

The chief justice of the Superior Court touched on that subject.

“York County has as many cases go through the courts as Cumberland. Sometimes hundreds more,” he said. “It is impossible to move cases through (in a reasonable manner). It’s not the fault (of anyone) with the resources we have. This is a beautiful courtroom; I love trying cases here. But we can’t expand (the structure), so we need a new sys-