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Commissioners, DA amend agreement on office move to Caldwell Building

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In this file photo, the courthouse dome is reflected in windows of the Caldwell Building at 26 S. Main St. in Washington.

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In late May, a building permit was on display on the front of the Caldwell Building in a window that reflected the Washington County Courthouse across South Main Street. 

Members of the Washington County Board of Commissioners and District Attorney Gene Vittone were in court last August over an imminent move from the courthouse to the newly purchased Caldwell Building.

Working conditions in the 147-year-old former department store, plus security concerns, kept the movers from packing up the DA’s office last August, and work has continued at 26 S. Main St. across from the courthouse.

For example, Vittone wants to make sure the Caldwell Building’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning system is fully functional before the move takes place, and that a former holding cell in the basement of the courthouse will continue to be used by members of the district attorney’s office and as a mail drop.

Vittone received permission Thursday from the Washington County Salary Board to add a fourth, full-time county detective, which was also part of the legal document.

First Assistant District Attorney Dennis Paluso represented Vittone in the unanimous salary board vote just after the commissioners approved a 2 ½-page revamped agreement dealing with the above issues and the move itself.

The parties agreed that the commissioners must obtain all required permits and code compliance certifications from all government agencies, including the city of Washington.

Vittone agreed to settle and discontinue previous litigation related to an injunction request and file a document stating this with the Washington County prothonotary.

“It was never finalized,” commission Chairman Diana Irey Vaughan said of what appeared to be a resolution reached last August.

“The district attorney again brought this issue to the board of commissioners this year during COVID with a need to make sure when his employees were returning to work full time, that he could provide a safe work environment. Our solicitor was able to negotiate reasonable terms which both parties could agree to.”

The Washington County Courthouse was designed at the turn of the 20th century to house two courtrooms, but increases in the county’s population brought the complement of judges to seven last year.

The county purchased the Caldwell Building from George Sprowls in August of last year for $400,000.

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