Commissioners approve $41.2M to construct public safety building
The Washington County commissioners approved more than $41 million in contracts to construct the county’s new public safety building in a split decision during a special meeting Thursday afternoon.
Commissioners Nick Sherman and Electra Janis voted in favor of the four bids that make up the $41.2 million project, while Commissioner Larry Maggi voted against it after raising concerns about the cost and scope of the work.
Massaro Construction Group of Pittsburgh is the general contractor and will be paid $28.48 million for overseeing the project. In addition, the commissioners approved three other contracts, including $5.563 million to Clista Electric Inc. of Pittsburgh for electrical work; $5.374 million to Lugaila Mechanical Inc. of Pittsburgh for mechanical and HVAC work; and $1.8 million to Wheels Mechanical Contracting & Supplier Inc. of Elrama for plumbing and fire suppression systems.
The public safety building will be built on the site of the former county office building known as Courthouse Square, which was demolished recently to make way for the new complex. The county spent about $6 million on the demolition and floated a $12.5 million bond in November 2024 to help fund the project. The remaining money to construct the public safety building will come from the county’s capital expenditure reserve fund.
“We’re excited for it,” said Sherman, who is the board chairman. “This is a long time in coming. It’s a state-of-the-art building that will be energy efficient and a massive cost saving for courthouse square. … We’re ready to move forward on this and deliver to the citizens of Washington County.”
Sherman said they hope to break ground on the project by late August and complete construction and open the building in early 2028.
Before the vote, Maggi said he was against the project because of the cost to construct the public safety building, along with concerns over how much the county is spending on upgrading the 911 emergency radio system used by first responders. The two projects combined are estimated to cost nearly $75 million.
“After careful thought and consideration and some concerns … I’m going to vote no on this project,” Maggi said during the meeting. “The amount of money being spent on this and some other associated projects concerns me.”
Sherman said they had little choice but to tear down the Courthouse Square office building and garage due to settlement problems over the years. He said renovations could have been made years ago to save the building, but they had become too costly as the settlement problems persisted over the years.
“It’s important we have to tell the story about (Courthouse Square),” Sherman said after the meeting. “It was deemed unsafe and not structurally sound. It’s not like we did this because we wanted to do this. We had to do this.”
Janis agreed, saying the commissioners made the best decision they could with the situation with which they were facing.
“When I took office, engineers had already determined that this building was structurally unsound and that action could no longer be delayed. The previous administration had not addressed those issues, and we were faced with the responsibility of finding a long-term solution,” Janis said. “I understand residents’ concerns about the cost of this project. Those concerns are valid, and we took them seriously throughout the process. That’s why we selected the lowest responsible bids while also prioritizing qualified local contractors, ensuring taxpayer dollars are invested wisely and remain in our community. This project is an investment in the safety, reliability, and emergency preparedness our residents deserve for decades to come.”
The three-story public safety building’s facade will mimic the exterior of the neighboring Crossroads Center county office building across West Beau Street. The public safety building will house the 911 dispatch center, sheriff’s office, booking center and have other various office space for county government, along with some areas for civic institutions to gather for meetings.
AE Works of Sewickley, which is the architect designing the public safety building, delivered its final plans on the construction drawings in May, allowing the county to put the project out to bid.
The bid opening for the public safety building was delayed earlier this month after one of the 20 bidders on the project protested the process when county officials put a heavy emphasis on using union labor to perform the work. The county identified a “public liability agreement” asserting extraordinary circumstances with the project, which typically involve tight construction timelines or concerns about the lack of skilled workers available. County Solicitor Gary Sweat said during the special meeting Thursday that there should be no further issues after the county clarified the reasons for the public liability agreement.
Sherman said they are happy to be using local companies with union laborers and carpenters on the project.
“They’re ready to go,” he said.