Luzerne County Council has been asked to earmark $415,000 to repair and update existing courtrooms and ready new ones, according to council’s Tuesday work session agenda.
“These repairs and updates were discussed during budget hearings last fall, and it was suggested that funding for these projects should come from allocations other than the general fund,” the agenda said.
According to the agenda:
The money would come from the capital fund, energy bond or “any other funding source that may be deemed appropriate.”
Previous courthouse repair and restoration projects have not included courtrooms.
In addition to woodwork and artwork restoration, existing courtrooms must be painted and require repair or replacement of lighting, plaster, window coverings, electrical wiring, flooring and ceilings, it said.
Judicial benches must be designed and built for new courtrooms, which also need repairs and updates to ensure they meet existing standards.
Court administration has been working with the county administration and outside contractor A&E Group to make sure the projects are properly completed “given the historical significance of the building,” it said.
County Court Administrator Paul Hindmarsh said Monday the new benches would be in courtroom 8 on the second floor, which has a makeshift riser configuration, and courtroom 9 that will be housed in first-floor courthouse space previously occupied by the tax-claim office.
Courtroom 9 will provide a fifth space equipped to hold jury trials, he said.
Hindmarsh said he will answer any council questions about the request Tuesday and invite council members to visit courtrooms at their convenience to see what needs attention.
For example, decades-old drapes had to be removed in two courtrooms because they were starting to fall down, presenting a hazard, officials have said. Water damage also must be repaired around some windows.
The county’s capital projects fund has an approximately $1.5 million balance not yet formally earmarked for other projects, and council is slated to introduce an ordinance Tuesday to replenish the fund with $1.38 million in unencumbered funds from the 2022 audited surplus.
Approximately $151,497 remains in the “2017 energy savings fund,” according to this year’s county budget.
The county had borrowed $7.9 million to address energy drains and used much of that funding to replace more than 500 windows at the courthouse, switch to more cost-efficient LED lighting, seal buildings and upgrade the mechanical system insulation and some plumbing. Two new boilers were set up in the courthouse subbasement to heat the building, ending reliance on steam delivered through an aging and deteriorating underground pipe linked to a boiler plant near the prison on Water Street in Wilkes-Barre.
Tuesday’s work session follows a 6 p.m. voting meeting at the courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre, with instructions for the remote attendance option posted under council’s online meetings link at luzernecounty.org.