New parking garage on target

Bucks County expects to submit preliminary sketches of its new justice center this fall.

Work on the county's $22 million parking garage in Doylestown is on schedule and on budget, and the public could get a glimpse of the justice center it will serve as early as this fall.

"In all this bad weather, I'm very pleased we're still on schedule," said Director of Operations Jerry Anderson. "It goes to show how well our contractors are doing."

In one major construction hurdle, workers buried a pipe 6 feet in diameter under Doyle Street from the Harvey Avenue waste water treatment plant to Broad Street. Businesses remained open with little disruption, Anderson said.

Next spring, he said, the pipe will be extended farther up Broad, down Union Street and stop at the entrance to the existing garage where it will pick up justice center storm water runoff.

Just like any developer would, the county will pay sewer connection fees once the borough and Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority find a way to enlarge capacity at the Harvey Avenue plant.

The garage should be finished by July 2010 and changes in the look of the site should be visible in early October when pre-cast elements arrive from the Reading-area manufacturer, Anderson said.

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The existing garage will be razed when the new garage is finished and the justice center will be built in its place.

The justice center architectural firm, Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, has finalized space requirements for departments that will move into the new structure.

Courtrooms and most related functions - such as the clerk of courts, prothonotary, sheriff, public defender, adult and juvenile probation, domestic relations and district attorney - are in.

The law library, controller, register of wills, recorder of deeds, commissioners and other functions are out. Some of these may move from various spaces the county rents in the borough to the main administration building.

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Last week HOK officials met with Phil Ehlinger, borough assistant manager and zoning and planning director, to discuss ordinance provisions that require architectural and design elements, such as a base, middle and top to the building. Anderson said the county will send preliminary sketches to the borough in the fall.

"When they submit first preliminary designs, we will run it through a public meeting to make sure we get appropriate input from the public," Ehlinger said.

The borough has received less than a half-dozen complaints from residents near the construction site since work began in February.

"Given a project of this scale, you almost don't know it's going on if you live in the borough," Ehlinger said.

The county-borough working relationship got off to a rocky start.

Years ago a Republican-controlled borough council promised to waive permit fees, but the current council, controlled by Democrats, instead passed along a mere discount.

The county paid the $200,000 tab, but requested an accounting of expenses the borough incurred while inspecting the construction site. Instead, the borough issued a stop work order, which the two Republican commissioners playfully posted on the doors to their offices at the courthouse.

Permits were issued hours after the county solicitor clarified the county's position.