It’s tough to renovate an office that’s in use. Well, unless you work on the weekends.

During a meeting Wednesday, the Schuylkill County Commissioners approved change orders for renovations to the Human Services Building, 410 N. Centre St. Antz Energy Systems and Perrotto Builders are working weekends to complete renovations to the Public Defender’s Office.

On behalf of the engineering department, the commissioners approved change orders for $4,920 for Antz and $27,812 for Perrotto. The Human Services Building will house the county’s Drug & Alcohol and Mental Health Agencies, the Public Defender’s office and the office of District Judge James Reiley. The county budgeted $2.9 million for renovations, and County Administrator Gary Bender said the project remains under budget, with a move-in date of September.

Until 2016 the building was home for the county’s Children & Youth Services Agency. C&Y outgrew the building and moved across Laurel Boulevard to the former home of Empire Beauty School, a building that the county bought and renovated.

The project required numerous change orders due to the age of the building, and the scope of renovations for the project expanded to additional county-owned buildings. Security systems will be unified, including a system for card-access doors. Other upgrades include equipment and installation for cabling conduits at the Human Services building, as well as upgrades to panels and doors at the buildings for Senior Services and Adult Probation.

In other action, the commissioners entered into an agreement with PKF Mark III Inc. for underwater inspections of the intake tower and outlet works at Little Schuylkill Dam and Neifert’s Dam. Bender explained that the inspections must be done every 10 years as per Department of Environmental Protection requirement. The agreement is on a time and material basis; Bender said the expected cost is about $30,000.