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Courthouse project to cost $5M

Carbon County is moving forward on extensive renovations at its historic courthouse in Jim Thorpe.

On Thursday, the board of commissioners, in a 2-1 vote, approved four contracts for the project, which includes general construction, mechanical, electrical and plumbing. Commissioner Chris Lukasevich cast the sole no vote on each of the contracts because he said the county was overspending and cited one area in the project that moves the clerk of courts office to the first floor, a move he calls “unnecessary.”

The total for the four contracts comes out to $5,029,400 for work on all three floors of the courthouse, including updating electrical, boilers and pumps, shifting a few offices and providing necessary updates to the functionality of the over century old building.

Contracts were awarded to CMG of Easton Inc. for general construction at a bid of $1,489,900 with no alternate; JBM Mechanical Inc. will be the mechanical contractor at a bid of $2,020,000, which includes an alternate bid for boilers and pumps; K.C. Mechanical Inc. was awarded the plumbing contract at a bid of $447,000; and G.R. Noto Electrical Inc. will do the electrical work at a total cost of $1,072,500.

Before the votes, the board of commissioners discussed their feelings, citing the need for some of the alternates, but not other things, and stressed the importance of open communication before any change orders are made.

Lukasevich outlined that based on the figures, the county is overspending on the project, noting that if the bids were accepted without any alternates, there would be just over $99,000 left in the capital projects funds, however, alternates are required to do the project correctly and also increases to the consulting firm budget for an increased timeline are not factored in fully, which means that there isn’t enough money in the project budget.

He pointed out that the project initially was expected to take around 11 months to complete and will now take 18 months because the work must be completed in phases and sometimes at night rather than shifting all offices out of the building because no other space was available for the courts.

Lukasevich again pointed to 410 Center Ave., which the county initially started to purchase and then backed out, as one way the project could have worked more smoothly.

Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein said that there were too many issues with the Center Avenue building, such as parking, that would have made it difficult.

Lukasevich then said the relocation of the clerk of courts office is also cost taxpayers upward of $500,000, when the district attorney could have also been relocated without issue and already been using the first floor space instead of complaining about more space being needed.

“Our lack of vision and foresight is going to cost the taxpayers,” Lukasevich said.

Nothstein responded that not all facts are being presented for the matter and said that the county was trying to get things done with an office move and it never happened.

After the discussion, Tony Ganguzza of Boyle Construction, the county’s architect for the project, said that his company will now move forward on issuing the letters of intent for the project and will begin on contracts for bonding.

Carbon County opened the bids for this project on July 27 and then tabled the bids for review.

It has been working on the courthouse renovation project since early 2022, when they hired Boyle Construction for professional construction management services.

The project includes interior renovations to upgrade electrical systems, HVAC, plumbing and shift around a few offices. It will not change the aesthetic of the historic appearance of the building.

The estimated start date for the project is in October.