Local Firms to Provide Professional Services for Courthouse Facility Improvement Project

“We’re fortunate to be able to work with local firms with the knowledge and experience necessary to help ensure the success of a project of this size and complexity,” said Dave Keller, chairman of the board of commissioners.

On Tuesday morning, Project Manager John Hart and County Solicitor Mary Beth Shank presented to the commissioners a proposed professional services agreement with Noelker & Hull Associates. It includes all architecture and engineering work, from programming and design through all phases of construction of the new Courthouse and Administration Building, as well as renovations to the existing Courthouse Annex, the historic Franklin County Courthouse, and 340 N. Grant Street property for Archives. The agreement is at a cost of 7.5% of total construction costs, plus $143,000 for preliminary design and an estimated $33,000 in civil engineering.  Noelker & Hull will be assisted by Silling Architects, a West Virginia firm which specializes in courthouse design.  The preliminary design work that has been done thus far is the product of the partnership of these two firms.

Engineering services from Dennis E. Black Engineering, Inc. for the Courthouse and Courthouse Annex projects include preparing a plan for a 25 lot consolidation and public alley abandonment subdivision for the first block of Main Street in downtown Chambersburg, as well as land development plans, utilities plans, permitting, and facilitating necessary municipal approvals. The agreement, approved on Thursday, is at a cost not to exceed $95,000.

Both agreements are part of the overall Court Facility Improvement Project budget of $67.7 million and are the latest actions by the Franklin County Commissioners to ensure that the Court Facility Improvement Project is well managed and within budget.

The Court Facility Improvement Project impact remains estimated at 1.5 mills, which is approximately $29.48 per year for a Franklin County resident owning a $150,000 property ($150,000 is the average value of a home in Franklin County). The project is on track for construction to begin in early 2019. Demolition for the new courthouse site is expected to begin late in 2018.

A Court Facility Improvement Project webpage can be found on the County website and updates are shared through social media. For more information on the project, please visit www.franklincountypa.gov or email facilityprojectinfo@franklincountypa.gov.

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