If all goes as planned, the offices of the McKean County public
defender and human resources will be relocated within the county
courthouse by the end of April.
On Monday, County Administrator Richard Casey said bids for
renovating the area of the courthouse where the planning department
was last situated will be accepted until March 6, at which time
they will be opened.
The bid will be officially awarded at the commissioners’ March
21 meeting.
“We are looking at getting the public defender’s office done
first, hopefully by the second week of April,” Casey said. “Then,
we’ll do the human resources office, which is not as big and
complicated. We hope to have that done by the end of April.”
As it stands, the public defender’s office – which will relocate
to the planning department site – is located on the first floor of
the courthouse near the Tax Claim Bureau. Casey said the planning
department should complete its move to its new location at the Old
County Home along U.S. Route 6 this week.
Meanwhile, the human resources department will relocate to the
former public defender’s area.
“The driving factor is the public defender’s office needs more
space to accommodate their clients and have some confidentiality
for them,” Casey said. “This will satisfy those needs.”
Casey said the relocation of the departments and the creation of
a holding cell for inmates, which will be located near the large
courtroom on the third floor of the courthouse, will complete the
facilities changes at the courthouse for the time being.
“If everything goes at a reasonable pace and we get good bids
for the work, it should go fairly quickly,” Casey said, adding work
on the holding cell is already under way, with crews beginning late
last week.
When completed, the holding cell will be used to place those
waiting to go before the judge during open court sessions. There,
the individuals will be shackled to the floor and ceiling.
According to the legal advertisement appearing in Saturday’s
edition of The Era, the public defender and human resources
projects will include drywall work, the installation of new doors
and frames, painting and electrical work.
The ad indicates construction documents can be obtained through
R.W. Larson Associates of Warren.
Earlier this month, the planning department began its move to
the Old County Home, where it will join forces with the county’s
fledgling economic development agency and soil and water
conservation department. Both the planning and economic development
departments will remain as separate entities, however.
County officials are hoping the economic development department
will lead to an expanded tax base and help secure no property tax
increases for several years.
“We’ll make sure all these moves are well advertised,” Casey
said. “The normal customers for the planning department have
already been made aware of its move. I think this should be an easy
transition.”
