Magistrate Stewart moves into new state-of-the-art office in Washington
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
District Judge Kelly Stewart stands beside the bench in the courtroom of her new magisterial office inside the Caldwell Building at 26 S. Main St. in Washington.
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
District Judge Kelly Stewart sorts through paperwork while on the bench in her new magisterial office’s courtroom inside the Caldwell Building at 26 S. Main St. in Washington.
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
District Judge Kelly Stewart’s new magisterial office is located on the first floor of the Caldwell Building at 26 S. Main St. in Washington.
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
District Judge Kelly Stewart’s new magisterial office is located on the first floor of the Caldwell Building at 26 S. Main St. in Washington.
Walking through the front door to District Judge Kelly Stewart’s new magisterial office in the Caldwell Building, the public might not notice many differences from an ordinary courtroom.
The lobby looks like a typical waiting area with staffers typing away at their work stations and filing paperwork behind glass enclosures. And the courtroom itself seems fairly typical with seats and tables facing the magistrate’s bench.
But behind the scenes, the spacious location has been specially crafted in recent months to have upgraded security features and more room to allow for a variety of court services and, if needed, future expansion.
“We’re still working through it getting used to the new set-up,” Stewart said while giving a tour to a reporter Tuesday afternoon. “But everyone is getting used to it. So far, so good. Lots of room.”
Stewart and her staff moved into the first-floor office at 26 S. Main St. in Washington in late August as county officials continue to expand their government’s campus in the heart of the city. The county purchased the Caldwell Building directly across the street from the courthouse for $400,000 in August 2019. Since then, the district attorney’s office was moved over to the second floor as more room was needed in the courthouse for a seventh judge and other administrative functions.
But county officials were also trying to find a use for the Caldwell Building’s first floor, and there was plenty of room to add the magistrate’s courtroom and miscellaneous office space that is needed for meetings between attorneys and their clients. There are also additional private meeting rooms that will be helpful when the office hosts the weekly “DUI Central Court” each Friday that brings in cases from across the county. Farther back beyond the district office’s designated area is more space for other county functions not related to the courts.
“It’s definitely designed to accommodate future (expansion) … and to be part of something more,” Stewart said.
That was the idea when the county decided to move the magistrate into the Caldwell Building. The blank canvas gave architects the ability to create the office space from scratch, while also upgrading security features throughout the building to keep the judge, her staff and public safe.
“It’s just easier when you own the building to make changes or upgrades than renting from a landlord,” Washington County Court Administrator Grimm said. “It’s a nice office. It’s very spacious.”
It will also eventually save the county money. The city’s magistrate had been in the Millcraft Center on West Chestnut Street for about seven years after moving from the Landmark Building on East Maiden Street in 2016. While there were substantial renovation costs associated with the recent move, Grimm estimates that the county will save close to $100,000 in rent each year due to the fact that it owns the Caldwell Building and won’t be locked into a long-term lease elsewhere.
“The county is going to come out ahead eventually,” Grimm said. “But it also made use of the first floor of the Caldwell Building, which had been vacant.”
Stewart’s district currently oversees lower court matters such as traffic tickets, small claims, landlord disputes and preliminary hearings in Washington and North Franklin Township. But that will change next year with judicial realignment – which will reduce the number of magistrates in the county from 11 to 10 – when North Franklin is moved out of Stewart’s district and East Washington Borough is moved into it. That will make the magistrate’s office in the heart of Washington’s business district also near the geographic center of the realigned judicial district.
While that makes it within easy walking distance for many city and borough residents, Grimm said the location also has ample public parking around the building, whether it’s in the city’s main business section or down the alley in the lot near Citizens Library.
“It’s the same parking situation the courthouse has,” Grimm said.
But the main upgrade, Grimm said, is for security improvements, including a smaller footprint than the Millcraft Center, which had numerous people coming and going for business not related to the courts.
“You’re not going to the Caldwell Building unless you have business before the (magisterial district judge) or possibly to see the DA,” Grimm said. “There’s less of a mixture with the public at Caldwell.”
Stewart said the security enhancements have been a boost for the office, while noting that electronic badges and door codes are needed to enter most rooms.
“Everyone is adjusting to it,” Stewart said of the security and layout. “It’s very secure.”