FARMINGTON — Commissioners on Tuesday gave the OK for an architectural firm to detail three more options to help alleviate space constraints at the Franklin County Courthouse, the Sheriff’s Department’s Office and the communications center.

Smith Reuter Lull Architects and a consultant have been working with a county Building Committee for more than a year to find a solution to the county’s woes. Representatives will draw up detailed plans and cost estimates on the options to be brought back to commissioners.

John Cleveland, a consultant working on the project, outlined new options Tuesday that include leasing space at the Church Street Commons across the street from the courthouse to house the Registry of Deeds and Register of Probate. Freeing up those spaces at the courthouse would allow the District Attorney’s Office and Emergency Management Agency to move upstairs at the courthouse and out of the basement, Cleveland said.

The Building Committee and District Attorney Norm Croteau are in favor of using the Church Street Commons space, he said.

Owners of the building are also willing to discuss a lease-purchase agreement, Cleveland said.

Another part of the plan would be to move the communications center into the jail, which would free up space in the Sheriff’s Department Office, he said.

However, Cleveland said there have been some concerns raised by dispatchers about moving into the jail. They are not happy since it would not achieve all of the goals they wanted, he said.

The jail is currently a 72-hour holding facility.

Cleveland said they would explore moving the communications center to the Church Street Commons as well.

All the changes are believed to be doable within an operating budget and not a capital budget, he said, and possibly could be achieved without incurring long-term debt and requiring a referendum vote.

Anything more than $50,001 in cost would require a countywide vote, Cleveland said.

Commissioner Gary McGrane of Jay said he liked having options. He would like to see them approach the Church Street Commons project prior to the jail, he said, which would take some renovation.

As far as the jail is concerned, “I’m fairly comfortable putting dispatch in there,” Commission Chairman Fred Hardy of New  Sharon said. However, he said, he was concerned about dispatchers not being satisfied about going into the jail.

“I think it’s a difference between a want and a need,” Hardy said. He said he couldn’t see why the jail wouldn’t work since there is available space and it would be secure.

If going with a new building situation as initially discussed, architect Noel Smith said, it’s easy to accommodate space needs,  but with an existing building there may not be enough space in certain places for what was wanted. But that could be worked out, he said.

It would be a tremendous savings, Hardy said.

The firm had previously developed two options ranging from $3 million to more than $5 million. The first option would be to build a public safety building on the county’s 14 acres where the jail and Sheriff’s Department are located. That would include space for dispatch, deputies, emergency management and commissioners. A second option would be to build a building to encompass all of the county’s operations, including Registry of Deeds and Register of Probate.

The Farmington Business Association raised concerns over moving the county’s seat from the heart of the downtown to the Fairbanks section of town, and commissioners agreed to explore other opportunities.

[email protected]