Melissa Nann Burke

The News Journal

City officials warned lawmakers that elimination of the Alderman’s Court would add to an already overburdened state docket

Revenue from fines collected by the court help to offset law-enforcement costs

DOVER – The sponsor of a bill to abolish Newark’s longstanding Alderman’s Court says the measure is intended to wake the city up to opportunities presented by developing a data center and power plant at the former Chrysler plant site.

“It’s to send a message to the City of Newark that this is a big revenue generator for you. You need to consider this,” said state Rep. Mike Mulrooney, D-Pennwood, a supporter of The Data Center LLC’s proposal.

House Bill 410 would alter Newark’s charter by eliminating the authority of City Council to establish the Alderman’s Court, which hears civil and traffic offenses and criminal misdemeanors committed within city limits. Last year’s caseload exceeded 13,000, and court personnel collected more than $2 million in fines.

Neither Mulrooney nor co-sponsors Rep. Dennis E. Williams and Sen. Harris McDowell represent the Newark area.

Rep. John Kowalko, D-Newark South, said HB 410 is an attempt to rush and “bully” Newark officials who have “taken time to look at facts” about a complex project.

“My understanding is it won’t get a committee hearing, but a lot of damage has already been done by filing the bill,” said Kowalko, an opponent of the proposed project’s power plant. “In my eyes, it looks like an attempt to coerce or intimidate Newark. There’s no other rhyme or reason for it.”

Mulrooney said he has nothing against Newark Alderman’s Court, and the bill “won’t be worked.” That is, it won’t get a hearing or vote. “That was never the intention,” Mulrooney said.

The purpose is tied to the data center project, he said.

“It would bring millions of dollars into the city. It would bring millions of dollars into the school district. It would bring millions of dollars into the state,” Mulrooney said. “We spent millions on that property, cleaning up the brownfield – the Chrysler site. It’s a good location for it. I’m a big proponent of the data center.”

TDC has signed a 75-year lease with the University of Delaware to build a 900,000-square-foot facility on 43 acres of former Chrysler land, now UD’s Science Technology & Advanced Research Campus. The complex would create 240 full-time jobs and be powered by an on-site, 279-megawatt power plant fired by natural gas.

Residents concerned about property values, noise and air pollution have appealed a zoning dispute over the project to Superior Court.

The Alderman’s Court bill took Newark officials by surprise. They received no notice that the legislation was being drafted, and have had no communication with the sponsors regarding TDC, City Manager Carol Houck said.

“None whatsoever,” she said. “I don’t think the two things should be intermingled.”

City officials warned legislative leaders that elimination of the Alderman’s Court would add to an already overburdened state docket and require the hiring of additional state court judges to handle the influx of Newark cases.

The bill could also result in a significantly reduced police presence in Newark because officers would regularly have to travel to Wilmington and wait for their cases to be called on the docket there.

“An officer’s stay for a trial in the Court of Common Pleas is approximately three hours. However, this does not include an hour of necessary travel time,” Police Chief Paul Tiernan wrote in a letter to House Majority Leader Valerie J. Longhurst.

“Trials for misdemeanor offenses conducted outside the City of Newark could literally deplete an entire shift of officers from the city.”

Tiernan also noted that many defendants, witnesses and victims in Alderman’s Court are University of Delaware students – many of whom don’t have vehicles. Revenue from fines collected by the court also help to offset law-enforcement costs.

HB 410 isn’t the General Assembly’s only attempt to influence the future of the data center project. On May 29, a budget committee voted to withhold $3 million from UD in an attempt to force the university’s hand on the controversial project. The money, earmarked for UD operations, was placed in a contingency fund.

“When people get bogged down in the mud, sometimes you need to get a mule to pull them out,” McDowell said at the time.

A UD working group continues to study TDC’s plans. Its report is duethis month.

Contact Melissa Nann Burke at (302) 324-2329, mburke@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @nannburke.