Bucks County is starting a project to bring all 18 of its district courthouses into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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The Bucks County Commissioners – two Democrats and Republicans – approved contracts earlier this month to begin ADA-required upgrades at the offices of district judges Michael Gallagher on Byberry Road in Bensalem Township, Daniel Baranoski on Centre Street in Penndel Borough, and Lisa Gaier on California Road in Richland Township.
The work on these first three offices comes in response to ADA mandates set by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.
The commissioners voted to hire S and S Building Group, of Warrington Township, to carry out general construction work for $202,900;AGH Mechanical Inc., of Northampton Township, for mechanical and plumbing for $83,750; and Palman Electric Inc., of Lower Southampton Township, for electrical work at a price of $44,224.
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The county plans to upgrade three additional district court offices each year until all 18 facilities satisfy ADA standards, said Commissioner Chairperson Diane Ellis-Marseglia, a Democrat.
“We’re bringing everything up to ADA compliance,” said Dennis Pagliotti, deputy director of the county’s general services department. “All of them need to be brought up to compliance.”
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Ellis-Marseglia said that stretching the project over several years is a financial strategy designed to manage costs.
“We are thinking about the taxpayers, and you can’t always tackle everything at the same time,” Ellis-Marseglia said. “I’d like to redo my whole house, but the only thing I could do is the roof this year.”
Former Commissioner Andy Warren, who attends the meetings, raised questions about whether the district court upgrades are part of a larger study of county properties and needed work.
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“Wouldn’t it make sense to, if there are repairs to outlying county offices, like district justice offices, to have a universal assessment by the engineer that we just hired?” he asked.
County officials clarified that the work on the district court offices is strictly tied to the state courts’ ADA compliance mandate and is operating on a separate schedule.
Earlier this summer, the county has started an engineering assessment to evaluate repairs for its main Administration Building in Doylestown Borough, where exterior brick near the entrance recently collapsed.
The county’s district courts recently underwent security upgrades and are piloting armed security officers.
