The Androscoggin County District Attorney’s office on Lisbon Street in Lewiston is seen July 2023. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

AUBURN — With issues at the Lewiston building that houses the District Attorney’s Office still unresolved and new problems popping up, the Androscoggin County commissioners decided during Wednesday’s meeting to continue to withhold rent payments.

In January, commissioners voted to stop paying the $4,500 monthly rent for use of the second floor at 55 Lisbon St. until the chronic issues with the building get resolved. The building is next to the 8th District Court.

The county, which has not paid the rent for February and March, will also not pay the April rent.

In addition to an elevator that has not worked since the fall of 2022 and a leaking roof, the keypad locking system on the door does not work, said Mike Perry, the administrator in the DA’s Lewiston office.

“Locksmith people were telling me that they had told the property maintenance people that these locks needed to be replaced a long time ago. They were failing,” Perry said at Wednesday’s meeting.

“On Feb. 26, I had a conversation with the property maintenance manager, and she asked me if one of our staff could be responsible for physically locking and unlocking the door every day, which I don’t feel comfortable with, so I said no,” Perry added. “I said I will do it for a little while until you figure out what’s going on and get it replaced or fixed, whatever. They are still not fixed. On March 11, I reached out and said, ‘hey, what’s going on with the front doors.’ The response was they are still examining their options.”

Other problems include a fan in the women’s bathroom that has been broken since early December and the building lacked power for four consecutive days earlier this year.

Most troubling is the broken elevator. Last month, a worker began disassembling it, but told Perry last week that he would no longer be working on the elevator.

The lack of an elevator has become more critical with two employees dealing with foot injuries. One is wearing a walking boot, and another is on crutches and is finding it difficult to use the stairs, Perry said.

“Another staff member is out on medical leave,” he said. “If and when she is ready to come back, we don’t know how she will physically get into the office.”

“It’s awful,” District Attorney Neil McLean Jr. said.  “The problem with our personnel is something we’re dealing with right now, It’s unfortunate. We could be in trouble legally at some point for them not having access.”

Perry said he was recently asked by the property maintenance company about the missing rent payment and asked the board how he should respond. Commissioners told him to send the company a copy of the Sun Journal article from January that discussed the problems.

“That would be appropriate to send to them,” Commissioner Garret Mason of Lisbon said.

Built in 1921, the three-story structure is also home to U.S. Sen. Susan Collins’ regional office on the first floor. The third floor is vacant.

The county has rented space in the building for about eight years and has three years remaining on its lease.

The state is planning to eventually purchase the building, knock out the walls between that building and the District Court, and connect the hallways to provide needed space for the court to allow attorneys and their clients a place for private consultations. Eventually, the state will move Superior Court there.

The expected sale may be why the repair issues remain.

“It still seems pretty clear that they do not want to do too much,” McLean said. “I think they are waiting for the sale to the state, quite frankly. In the meantime, they are doing the bare minimum and asking us when we’re going to pay them.”

The county is looking at available options to move the DA’s office into a building near the District Court building. Commissioners held an executive session for nearly an hour Wednesday to discuss the options.