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County drops grant request

Finding matching funds a point of contention among commissioners

HOLLIDAYSBURG — Blair County won’t ask the state Historical and Museum Com­mission for a grant this year to spend on Courtroom 1 renovations.

Unable to pinpoint county dollars to match a potential grant, Commissioners Chairman Bruce Erb and Ted Beam Jr. declined Thursday to support a grant application.

“Your approach will cost the county more money in the long run,” Commissioner Terry Tomassetti told fellow commissioners.

“But where would we get the money now?” Beam asked.

“There’s not enough money left in the 2017 bond issue to be the matching funds,” Erb said.

Tomassetti recommended Tuesday that the county submit a grant application for what could be as much as $100,000 toward completion of ceiling restoration work in Courtroom 1, which was built as part of the courthouse’s 1906 addition fronting Union Street.

Finding money within the county’s resources has the potential to provide the county with a return of $100,000, Tomassetti said.

It also puts the county in a position, he added, to undertake the work later this year or early 2020 while that section of the courthouse remains closed for the HVAC project. Both courtrooms and nearby offices were closed in June for the HVAC project, which is expected to continue through the end of the year.

If the county gets a grant for ceiling restoration work and moves forward, it may never again need to close a courtroom for a significant period of time, Tomassetti said.

Neither Erb nor Beam were swayed by that argument.

“I want to finish the 1875 courtroom,” Erb said, referring to Courtroom 2, the largest courtroom and part of the original structure, fronting Allegheny Street. Before the HVAC work started, Courtroom 2 had to have extensive repairs to its plaster, windows and woodwork because of water leakage.

When commissioners meet Tuesday, they’re expected to vote on several tasks associated with Courtroom 2’s renovations, including the installation of wainscoting, doors, flooring, furnishings, carpeting plus repairs to furniture and the courtroom’s 25-foot decorative arch. Estimates put that work at costing $210,355.

Erb, who said his review of the 2017 bond issue showed no money to use as matching funds for the grant, said the bond issue has money for the expenses associated with finishing Courtroom 2.

Beam, who declined to support the grant application, said he also remains concerned about spending money beyond basic and necessary improvements that fall within budget.

“I commend the people who look at the renovation project with such great enthusiasm — and want to bring the courtroom settings back to their original style and settings,” Beam said. “I get it. It would be beautiful!

“But I’m also realistic and look at the total picture. … Would I like to have many beautiful and historical furnishings from the past, restored and in my home? Yes, probably so, but I can’t afford it. And looking at the county’s financial picture, the county can’t afford it either.”

Also in a recent meeting, commissioners have spoken of the option of considering another bond issue to address delayed maintenance in the courthouse’s 1999 section and other improvements to the 1875 and 1906 sections, the county prison and the parking garage.

“I’m not sure what we’re going to be able to afford down the road,” Erb said.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 946-7456.

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