HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-01-03 Facility Public Meeting WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2018
The Franklin County Commissioners met Wednesday, January 3, 2018, at 3 pm with the
following members present: David S. Keller, Robert L. Thomas and Robert G. Ziobrowski to
review a presentation on the Court Facility Improvement Project held at the Administrative
Annex, 218 N Second Street, Chambersburg, PA 17201.
John Hart, Project Manager, opened the meeting with a brief introduction on the
proposed project. The major themes of the project are safety, adequate space and efficiencies
with the co-location of operations.
The following consultants presented: Tom Potts and Jody Driggs both from Silling
Architects provided their presentation on the recommended new courthouse and remodeled
courthouse and courthouse annex to include all court offices; Stuart Christianson, from Noelker
& Hull, provided a presentation on remodeling the Administration Annex to include all
administrative offices and the construction of a new archive building; Mark Morgan, from
Susquehanna Accounting and Consultant Solutions Inc., provided a presentation with gained
efficiencies through co-location of operations; John Frey from PFM provided a County debit
service summary and information for a new money bond.
Chairman Keller said he appreciates everyone coming today and it's tremendous to see
so many folks interested in the project. He thanked Tom, Jody, Mark, John Frey and staff. He
said we heard a lot of information today. He is looking forward to reviewing the information
further. He stated that safety, security and inefficiencies at the courthouse and court-related
offices are a very real problem. He said the information today is comprehensive and potential
savings are significant. He added that if the county moves forward with the project it looks like it
can be done with minimum impact on taxpayers. John Hart responded and suggested holding
several open houses during the day or evening. He said if they have any additional questions,
staff and consultants will be available. Commissioner Thomas said everyone knows we are
growing. He continued that when this presentation was announced last week he said it's a
challenge for any public official in his role but we can't deny the issues presented. One thing
that will be fixed is the ADA issues. He said it's time to look hard at this thing. He continued
that no decision is being made at this point but they knew they had to look at this.
Commissioner Ziobrowski said based on the 2009 study, the need for this project is well
established and questions they had were where to locate it, how much it will cost and when to
move forward. He said we are a lot closer to making these decisions after this presentation.
The floor was opened for public comments:
The Commissioners heard comments and questions from the public related to: moving the
project forward, parking concerns, the use of green technology, the need for additional space for
Hearing Masters operations, concerns with a full basement and limestone issues, easy access
to the buildings for the public and attorneys, cost overrun concerns due to parking concerns, the
possible construction of a parking garage, if a traffic study is required for the new facility, if
approved what is the time frame for the project, and to keep the tax payers in mind and spend
tax dollars wisely.
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Bruce Hockersmith, former Mayor of Shippensburg and now a member of town council exhorted
the commissioners to move forward with the project.
Allen Piper, President of Citizens for Responsible Government, expressed support for the
project and asked if an increase in crime was driving the need for improvements.
President Judge Carol Van Horn responded that overall the rate of crime has not increased but
rather the frequency of more violent crimes like homicide with multiple defendants has
increased which exacerbates the limitations of the facilities.
Kristin Hamilton, President of the Franklin County Bar Association, said the overall design of the
proposed new courthouse is excellent and asked if a closer look can be taken at
accommodations for highly confidential proceedings such as juvenile matters.
John Hart responded that suggestions like Attorney Hamilton's will be considered during the
final design phase, should the project move forward.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m. with a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski;
seconded by Robert L. Thomas.
FRANKLIN COUNTY COMMISSIONERS