§121. County buildings and land; records; parking areas

1.  Buildings.  The county commissioners, in the county seat of their county, may provide a jail and shall keep it in proper repair. The county commissioners, in the county seat of their county, shall provide and keep in repair:

A. Courthouses pursuant to Title 4, section 115, with a suitable room in each for the county law library;   [PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. C, §106 (NEW); PL 1989, c. 6 (AMD); PL 1989, c. 9, §2 (AMD); PL 1989, c. 104, Pt. C, §§8, 10 (AMD).]

B. Fireproof buildings of brick or stone or other fire-resistant material, with separate fireproof rooms and suitable alcoves, cases or boxes for each office, for the safekeeping of records and papers belonging to the offices of:

(1) The register of deeds;

(2) The register of probate;

(3) The register of insolvency; and

(4) The clerk of courts.

A registry that has permanent records located off-site is exempt from this paragraph if all permanent records, either in their original state or on archival-quality microfilm, that are stored off-site are in a secure fire-resistant facility with temperature and humidity controls suitable for long-term preservation, those records temporarily retained at the registry for copying are stored in fire-resistant containers and the registry building meets applicable fire and life safety codes; and   [PL 2007, c. 151, §1 (AMD).]

C. Any other necessary buildings.   [PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. C, §106 (NEW); PL 1989, c. 6 (AMD); PL 1989, c. 9, §2 (AMD); PL 1989, c. 104, Pt. C, §§8, 10 (AMD).]

[PL 2007, c. 151, §1 (AMD).]

2.  Acquiring land.  The county commissioners may acquire land by purchase or by condemnation proceedings for the enlargement of the grounds around county buildings. These condemnation proceedings must be in conformity with Title 23, sections 2051 to 2058.

[PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. C, §106 (NEW); PL 1989, c. 6 (AMD); PL 1989, c. 9, §2 (AMD); PL 1989, c. 104, Pt. C, §§8, 10 (AMD).]

3.  Files and records.  If, in the judgment of the county commissioners, public convenience so requires, they, at the county's expense, may cause the files and records of the probate and other county courts to be rearranged, indexed and docketed, the dockets which are worn or defaced to be renewed and the indexes to be consolidated under the direction of the respective registers and clerks of courts.

[PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. C, §106 (NEW); PL 1989, c. 6 (AMD); PL 1989, c. 9, §2 (AMD); PL 1989, c. 104, Pt. C, §§8, 10 (AMD).]

4.  Parking areas.  The county commissioners may lay out parking areas on county lands near county buildings and may enact ordinances for the reasonable use of those areas and enforce them by suitable penalties. Any violation of these ordinances is a civil violation.

The county commissioners may authorize a sheriff’s deputy, certified by the Maine Criminal Justice Academy under Title 25, section 2803-A, subsection 8, to represent the county in District Court in the prosecution of alleged violations of unpaid penalties pursuant to an ordinance enacted under this subsection. The county commissioners may delegate to the county's sheriff their power under this subsection to authorize sheriff’s deputies to represent the county.

County public parking areas are subject to any applicable requirements of the Maine Human Rights Act, Title 5, chapter 337, subchapter 5.

[PL 2007, c. 41, §1 (AMD).]

SECTION HISTORY

PL 1987, c. 737, §§A2,C106 (NEW). PL 1989, c. 6 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 9, §2 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 104, §§A4,C8,10 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 733, §10 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 41, §1 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 151, §1 (AMD).