Blair County Prothonotary Robin Patton (right) works with Tammy Imler, juvenile records clerk, at one of the new cubicles installed as part of an office remodeling project. Mirror photo by Kay Stephens

HOLLIDAYSBURG — The prothonotary office in the Blair County Courthouse has reopened on the first floor, where cubicles with drawers and shelves have replaced old desks and where computer cables and extension cords are no longer part of the visible office decor.

New furniture arrangements are also providing room for more storage.

“The whole goal for me has been to utilize every square inch,” Prothonotary Robin Patton said Thursday as she opened the door of a new cabinet and spoke of forthcoming bookcases that will fit into what’s long been recognized as a cramped office. “We’ve gone so many years with no space for anything.”

The remodeling work that started in early February — and required the prothonotary’s office to temporarily relocate to a portion of the public meeting room in the basement — included installation of commercial carpeting tiles and new countertops.

The accomplishments so far — allowing the staff to return this week to the first floor — caps off what Patton says is a three-phase project at no cost to Blair County taxpayers.

The expense — about $50,000 to date, according to Patton — is being covered with revenue from a $5 automation fee added to filings. State lawmakers paved the way in late 1982 for introducing that fee to provide prothonotary offices — long recognized as the keeper of civil and criminal court records — with money to cover automation costs and updates.

The second and third portions of the project, Patton said, will focus on similar improvements in the records and work area of the office and to a small office where juvenile records are housed. The overall project also calls for the office walls to be painted by the county maintenance employees.

While the new furnishings introduced an updated look for a county office in the historic side of the courthouse, Patton made no changes affecting the wall of large leather bound record books with recordings in cursive handwriting. Those record books, which glide easily in and out of their holders, remain a valuable source of information in an office where records are available on paper, on microfilm and on computers.

“I’m happy with how things are turning out,” Patton said. “We now have a little bit of both looks — the historic as well as the updated.”

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.