Centre County Commissioners OK Repairs and Renovations for 3 Facilities, Centre Crest Project Changes

The Centre County Board of Commissioners recently approved a total of $1.36 million for repair and renovation projects at three county-owned facilities, as well as more than $1 million in change orders for the ongoing overhaul of the former Centre Crest building.

Two projects will address repairs needed at the correctional facility and the courthouse, while another will continue renovations of the sheriff's office. The Centre Crest change orders are for work not included in the original scope of the project though are within the budget.

CENTRE COUNTY CORRECTIONAL FACILITY

The county will enter a contract with SJ Thomas Company to replace the roof at the county jail in Benner Township for $1,110,558.18. The commissioners agreed on July 9 to move the contract to the consent agenda for approval at their meeting on Tuesday.

The current roof is original to the building, which opened in 2005, and Board of Commissioners Chair Mark Higgins said the county has been looking at replacing it for about two years.

"If we don’t take care of this in the next year or two we might have to go all the way to a complete tear-off and that would be substantially more money," Higgins said.

Over the last three months, the existing rubber roof has had about 20 patches, facilities superintendent Jonathan McClure said.

"Our staff almost every rainstorm gets called in for a roof leak, whether it’s a new patch that opens up or if it’s one that we patched in the past that we have to readdress," McClure said. "If we wait much longer it’s going to be to the point where we have to completely remove the roof and start over."

The new roof, which will have a 25-year warranty and lightning protection, will be a Thermoplastic Polyolefin (TPO) membrane system that will add an inch of insulation — improving energy efficiency and having the ability to be molded for stormwater management, facilities superintendent Jonathan McClure said.

"Currently, that roof does pond in several areas so that will gain all the water drainage that’s necessary to aid in the roof’s expected life," McClure said, adding that an increase in the thickness of the roof will aid with tears and punctures.

Higgins noted that it will be best to have the roof replaced before winter.

"We’ve been working on this for awhile and we’ve put it off pretty much as long as we can," Higgins said. "This particular option will have the lowest long-term cost to continue maintaining the facility... We’re starting to feel that if we don’t take care of it this summer and fall that we could get a lot of damage over the weekend. Obviously you can’t do anything especially with a flat roof in the winter, so this is probably the time to get it done."

Because the roof project is being contract through Gordian Procurement Solutions, a cooperative purchasing agreement service, and not by bid, it is not subject to the county's Responsible Contractor Ordinance. The contractor, however, would meet the requirements of the RCO anyway, McClure said.

Commissioners also approved a $25,379 contract with Cleveland Brothers Equipment Co. to replace the radiator on the generator at the correctional facility.

"As our contractor was in doing preventative maintenance work they noticed that the radiator was leaking," McClure said. "Currently it’s not at the point where it’s going to cause damage to any other parts, however, if we let it go any longer it’s could cause significant engine damage."

The generator equipment is also as old as the facility. The new radiator will come with a three-year warranty.

CENTRE COUNTY COURTHOUSE

Various building envelope upgrades will be the next repairs to the county courthouse in Bellefonte. Commissioners on July 9 approved entering contract review with TMG Builders Inc., and a contract for $188,857 is on the consent agenda for approval at Tuesday's meeting.

Work is slated to include repairs to the front steps at the monument and the granite steps at the front of the courthouse, as well as mortar joints and window and door caulking, among other items.

"This seals up the building to make it watertight," McClure said. "We currently have some water infiltration issues."

The work is among the latest among recent repair and renovation work at the courthouse. Restoration of the retaining walls on either side of the building began last fall at a cost of about $2.3 million, including construction management. The interior of the courthouse has also undergone numerous renovations in recent years.

"When you are operating the oldest courthouse in the state, pushing 190-years-old for some of the foundation work, things will happen," Higgins said of the new repair work. "Obviously that’s a large building. We just don’t have quite enough staff or expertise to cover to cover all the items on that request for proposals."

CENTRE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

Behind the courthouse, the county plans to renovate the second floor of the sheriff's office.

Commissioners approved a $35,800 proposal from Hoffman Leakey Architects to provide design services for the renovations. The project will include new men's and women's locker rooms and an overall redesign of the floor as an updated office space.

Higgins described the project as a continuing conversion "from an old prison to a functional sheriff’s office."

"It’s ongoing renovation of the current building," Higgins said. "We’ve been attacking it in stages and something was recently brought to our attention where we were like yes, we need to upgrade the locker rooms for the deputies."

In addition to design service, Hoffman Leakey will manage the bid process, prepare construction contracts and provide construction administration services as part of the contract.

CENTRE CREST BUILDING

Commissioners at their July 2 meeting approved $1,052,363 in change orders for the renovation of the former Centre Crest nursing home at 502 N. Howard St. in Bellefonte. The project is converting the building into a hub for county human services departments.

The county has been working on plans for the building since Centre Crest residents moved to the new Centre Care in 2021, and earlier this year awarded $26.4 million in bids for the project. A $40 million bond issuance in 2022 included about $30 million for the renovation and another $3 million in county funds was set aside for the project and some renovations to the Willowbank Building

Commissioners approved a $971,948.77 change order to fit out the commercial kitchen space, which will be leased by a third-party tenant that County Administrator John Franek said the county has worked with before, though he could not yet disclose the name.

"This was not a part of the overall scope of the project because the determination of how we were going to utilize that space until after the project was awarded," Franek said. "This is basically the fit out of the kitchen for a particular tenant we are negotiating with."

Higgins said the change order is for HVAC and electrical worker that would be done anyway, but is being customized for the tenant, which will be purchasing its own equipment.

Another $35,894 was approved to convert what was planned as a gallery into a gym for employees as part of the county's wellness initiatives, Franek said.

Other minor changes totaling $44,520 include retention of a mop sink area, new supply lines, relocation of an IT server room to the basement and additional wall modifications.

"As you open up an old building, once you start demoing interior walls, that’s when you know what you’re actually dealing with," Franek said. "There were no major surprises but there were some minor things that needed to be accommodated for."

The project is till on track for move-in by July 2025, according to Franek.

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