Seventh judge to be elected in 2019; commissioners study where to put courtroom
The Washington County Courthouse, built more than 100 years ago with two large courtrooms, has seen the number of cases increase along with the county’s population, which now stands at slightly more than 208,000.
The state last year approved a seventh judge for the county, which will place the new slot on the ballot next year.
In preparation for a newly elected judge taking office in January 2020, Washington County is prepared to commission a study of how to accommodate the new judge and his or her staff.
County Purchasing Director Randy Vankirk said Wednesday after the commissioners’ agenda-setting session that Buchart Horn Architects of Pittsburgh, with estimated engineering fees of about $65,000, was deemed to have the most economical proposal of 11 firms responding to the county’s advertisement.
“We’re just in the preliminary stages of the design-build,” Vankirk said. “We’re looking at probably a six-month process from the architects’ perspective to coming up with these plans.
“Ultimately, the decision is up to the commissioners.”
The board expects to vote on a contract with Buchart Horn at its 10 a.m. meeting Thursday.
The firm, which purchased Celli-Flynn Brennan of Pittsburgh, included in a list of its prior projects the recent $6 million restoration of the Somerset County Courthouse, built in 1904, and Washington & Jefferson College’s McMillan Hall, which houses administrative offices. The Georgian-style stone building was constructed in 1793 for Washington Academy and later moved to its present site at 45 S. Lincoln St.