Westmoreland County commissioners on Thursday hired a Monroeville architectural firm to study the layout of the courthouse annex and extension buildings and to recommend a revised floor plan for office space in the structures.
The deal with Design 3 Architecture came after officials had no contact with any competing firms. The open-ended contract sets no maximum amount Design 3 can be paid.
The firm also has ties to Commissioner Tom Ceraso. Ceraso's wife, Dana, has worked as an independent subcontractor for the company. Ceraso abstained from voting on the deal.
County Engineer Mel Wohlgemuth said no other proposals were solicited because only Design 3 has the expertise to do all of the required reviews and planning.
Solicitor R. Mark Gesalman said because the architectural job was considered a professional service, commissioners were not required to seek formal bids.
According to the commissioners, yesterday's deal will enable officials to review how best to use vacant courthouse office space that will become available in the spring after the completion of a four-story addition to the courthouse extension.
"We want to evaluate how best to use the space. This will give us some options," Commissioner Tom Balya said.
What officials don't yet know is just how much the deal will cost.
In approving the contract, commissioners accepted a fee schedule that sets hourly rates for an array of services. No cap on what the county can spend was included in the deal, according to Gesalman.
Wohlgemuth said the commissioners will determine the scope of services that the architects will perform. Those duties could include a cursory review of office space and floor plans and possibly a detailed redesign of offices.
"We know we'll have open space so we want to do it right," Wohlgemuth said.
The $8 million project, paid for by the Westmoreland County Economic Growth Connection, is adding four stories to the extension building. It will be connected to the courthouse via a pedestrian bridge above Pennsylvania Avenue that is scheduled to be installed in the next several weeks.
Construction is expected to be finished in May. The Westmoreland County Children's Bureau will vacate its offices on the courthouse's third floor to move into the new structure.
Planning and redevelopment staff will move from a six-floor suite of courthouse offices to the addition across South Pennsylvania Avenue.
Wohlgemuth said the moves will create about 18,000 square feet of vacant office space in the courthouse.
Early plans call for the architects to look at moving some offices to other courthouse locations.
"We want to look at who needs to be the most accessible to the public and who doesn't," Ceraso said. "We want people to be where they should be naturally."
Larger text
Smaller text
Print this article
E-mail this article
