By Madeline Campbell
mcampbell@mihomepaper.com
Davison — On April 23 an agreement was approved by a 5-2 vote by the Genesee County Commissioners regarding the future of several district courts. Commissioners Brian Flewelling (R-Davison) and Shaun Shumaker (R-Fenton) were the dissenting votes.
According to a Memorandum of Understanding issued by the Genesee County Board of Commissioners and 67th District Court of Genesee County, the Davison Court will be safe for five years.
Flewelling presented a report to the Davison City Council on April 29 in which he explained the agreement and what comes next.
“The Davison court is safe, at least for five years,” he told the council. “There’s still a push to build a district court complex in downtown Flint by 2030, contingent on funding. But for now, our court is staying here.”
Davison Mayor Stacey Kalisz asked Flewelling if the county board has a plan for parking, extra stress on police departments by having to go downtown for court and how relocating courthouses will impact traffic into the Flint suburbs.
He replied that none of those issues are addressed by the county’s plan.
Flewelling said if the county doesn’t have the necessary funding by 2030 they won’t be able to build a court complex downtown.
He added there isn’t currently a plan he knows of where the county can get the funding it needs to build a new complex, but he said he would continue to follow developments and report back to his constituents.
The MOU follows a series of discussions that began last summer, initiated by the formation of a joint study group dedicated to exploring the future consolidation of the 67th District Court, which currently has facilities in seven locations across Genesee County.
In addition, the 67th District Court facility in Flushing, 1415 Flushing Rd., will be closing, according to a MOU and a second facility, 11820 N. Saginaw Rd., in Mount Morris, will also be closed. The district court judges in Flushing and Mount Morris will transition to a permanent location at Central Court in Flint.
The MOU outlines several agreements between the two parties, including acknowledgment of the need for a new main facility for the 67th District Court, coupled with a commitment from Genesee County to explore and ultimately create a district court facility that would meet the needs of the community in a fiscally responsible manner. In addition, the MOU also outlined the need to establish a new magistrate hearing room at Central Court aimed at enhancing the efficiency of court proceedings.
Flushing City Mayor Ed Sullivan said he is disappointed by the decision.