With one dissent, majority votes to purchase Crossroads Center
Barbara S. Miller/Observer-Reporter
Commissioner Nick Sherman points to deteriorated concrete on a beam marked with caution tape because it has decreased clearance for vehicles.
Plastic shields aim to protect pedestrians and vehicles from pieces of concrete on the "D" level of the garage that serves as the foundation of the Courthouse Square office building.
In a split vote Thursday, and without discussion, Washington County commissioners agreed to purchase the Crossroads Center, 95 W. Beau St., for $10 million.
Commission Chairman Diana Irey Vaughan and Commissioner Nick Sherman voted in favor of entering the agreement of sale with Beau Street Associates L.P., but Commission Vice Chairman Larry Maggi cast a “no” vote.
The motion also authorized Finance Director Joshua Hatfield to execute any and all documents on the county’s behalf with a closing date to be determined.
After an agenda meeting Wednesday, the Republican-majority commissioners said they expect the transaction to be completed by the end of this year, paving the way for a transition from Courthouse Square to the Crossroads Center by mid-2021.
Clerk of Courts Brenda Davis addressed the commissioners before their vote, expressing her support.
“I’m advocating for appropriate office space for all county employees, who are working on top of each other,” said Davis, whose office employs eight full-time employee and one part-timer to handle criminal filings and a myriad of miscellaneous matters.
“You can’t function without proper office space.”
The head count of union members in the row office hasn’t changed in 25 years, Davis explained, even though the Washington County bench now includes seven judges due to increased caseload.
Davis was not volunteering to move her office to the new building, and no decisions have been yet been made about rearranging office space in the courthouse in light of the impending move from the 40-year-old Courthouse Square office building, Irey Vaughan said.
In a news release, Maggi, the sole Democrat on the board, acknowledged Courthouse Square “has been severely damaged by pyrite,” which has destabilized the parking garage that serves as the building’s foundation.
“My suggestion is to mediate the problem at Courthouse Square, which I believe can be done at a much lesser cost than buying a new building and moving operations across the street,” he said in the news release that also noted government acquisition of Crossroads Center would remove it from Washington county, city and schools district tax rolls.
Irey Vaughan and Sherman disputed Maggi’s reference Wednesday to Courthouse Square site work that could be done for less than $1 million.
The lowest bid in March of last year to repair the garage was nearly $4.9 million, according to Irey Vaughan, and a second came in at $6.7 million.
Additional work on the Courthouse Square plaza would have added about $3.5 million to the project.
Rebidding the total project in March 2020 resulted in a low bid of $10.6 million, she quoted.
The Crossroads Center, built about a dozen years ago, houses several tenants but offers about 60,000 square feet of flexible space compared with 70,000 square feet of compartmentalized Courthouse Square.
Maggi questioned the county’s role in dealing with the tenants, the leases for whom will be reviewed as they expire.
Sherman and Irey Vaughan pointed out that the county serves as landlord for the Washington County Redevelopment Authority, the similarly named but separate Washington County Authority, and Penn State Extension.