MEADVILLE —
Possible options on what to do about Crawford County government’s office space will be presented to the public on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the William J. Douglass Conference Center, 764 Bessemer St., Meadville.
The additional input is being sought before the county Board of Commissioners votes on which option, if any, to choose.
No certain date has been set for the commissioners’ vote, but the vote is expected sometime later this year, according to Chairman Francis Weiderspahn Jr.
The options to be presented will be more refined versions of the ones presented earlier this year following a study by an all-volunteer Community Advisory Committee on county government space needs.
At the end of January, the committee recommended renovating the former Talon manufacturing facility on Arch Street in Meadville and splitting county government operations between there and the current courthouse on Diamond Park at a projected cost of $25.3 million.
That recommendation and other options then were presented at a series of meetings across the county in February.
In the wake of those meetings, the options have been refined as county department heads have assessed the options and provided feedback to county commissioners, according to Weiderspahn.
Also, commissioners have met with representatives of Weber, Murphy, Fox of Erie, the architectural firm hired by the county to revise the options. The options have been revised to incorporate feedback already received.
The cost of renovating the former Talon facility on Arch Street and using the courthouse as well still is estimated at $25 million to $26 million, according to Weiderspahn and Commissioner Jack Lynch.
In addition to the options, aspects of whether and how the potential project may be finance will be discussed, Lynch said.
Of the three current county commissioners, only C. Sherman Allen was on the Board of Commissioners that purchased the Talon site for $250,000 in late February 2011.
The county’s acquisition of the former Talon property wasn’t without controversy including a number of county residents questioning the need for more office space as well as the potential cost.
The previous Board of Commissioners at public meetings entered into several options to buy the site, citing the possibility of using it to expand courthouse offices they said were overcrowded and outdated. Then, on Feb. 28, 2011, without presenting a plan to the public or announcing a meeting to discuss the matter, the commissioners exercised the option to buy the Talon property. After the Tribune raised questions about the legality of the commissioners entering into a contract without a formal public meeting or vote, the three retroactively and unanimously voted to purchase the property March 3, 2011, at a public meeting.
To date, county government has spent about $1 million on the property, including the purchase price and demolition of a building on the site that was considered unusable.
You can go
A public meeting on options for Crawford County office utilizing the present courthouse and the formerl Talon Inc. property will be presented Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the William J. Douglass Conference Center, 764 Bessemer St., Meadville.
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