LOCAL

Franklin County courthouse project: Commissioners paying more for two contracts

Jim Hook
Chambersburg Public Opinion

CHAMBERSBURG -- Franklin County Commissioners are paying more for two contracts as they move forward with a $67 million project to improve county operations.

The contract changes are expected and are covered by the project budget, according to program manager John Hart. 

The Chambersburg Trust building and the Old Courthouse, seen on Oct. 3, 2018. The Chambersburg Trust building will be torn down to make way for the construction of a new judicial center.

The county is demolishing the former Chambersburg Trust building on Memorial Square and other buildings to make way for a judicial center on North Main Street and an administrative building on North Second Street at Grant Street.

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More:Life-size models offer glimpse into Franklin County's new courthouse

More:Courthouse project: What are your tax dollars actually paying for?

Commissioners are prepared to increase the contract payments to Franklin Advisory LLC from $9,750 a month to $16,800 a month. They also are paying an additional $180,000 to their landlord on North Second Street. Commissioners take formal action on Thursday.

Franklin Advisory previously looked at preliminary drawings and is halfway through reviewing spec drawings, according to Hart. Technical review has started and site work begins soon.

Demolition on North Main Street is set to begin in late November. Commissioners open the bids on Tuesday, Oct. 23.

Franklin Advisory is the on-site “clerk of the works” who makes sure contractors perform within specifications, Hart said. Franklin Advisory may have up to three “clerks of the works” because demolition and construction will take place at several locations.

Computer illustrations of Franklin Courthouse plans were shown by architects from Noelker and Hull Associates, Chambersburg, and Silling Architects, Charleston, West Virginia.

"I have expectations," Hart said. "I have a timeline for review."

Boozer, sole proprietor of Franklin Advisory, has said he has a team of 18 experts available. The company has worked on several other local projects.

The county’s contract with Franklin Advisory is to run about three years. The contract terms will change as the work changes, according to Hart.

More:Site of old Chambersburg Trust will always be 'for the people'

Construction management services typically cost two to four percent of most construction projects, according to Commissioner David Keller.

“We’re well below that number and closer to 2 percent,” Hart said.

Commissioners also are prepared to amend an agreement with b.developed LLC for leasing 340 N. Second St., the former temporary home of Coyle Free Library. Commissioners’ offices will move into the building later this month.

The county will pay an additional $181,345 for one-time work to install a stormwater system and paving. The developer is putting in an 80-space parking lot behind the building along Broad Street

The former Jennings dealership at North Second and Grant streets will serve as temporary offices for the Franklin County Commissioners as their current home on Memorial Square is torn down to make way for the construction of a new courthouse.

“We knew we needed to grade away from the building,” Hart said. “We knew that going into the lease.”

Commissioners previously signed a 10-year lease with an option to buy. The rent is fixed at $107,000 a year for the 16,000 square foot space.

The developer is grading the entire area, but the county is paying only for its share, according to Hart.

The developer also is building the nearby Grant Street Loft, 227 Grant St., a Butcher Shoppe event center.

When the county's projects are completed in 2021, commissioners will move into the new administrative office building and county archives would move into the space at 340 N. Second St.

Jim Hook,  717-262-4759