Bucks County will spend $330,874 to bring three district courthouses into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The work is the first phase of a plan to upgrade all 18 county district court facilities.
The Bucks County Commissioners approved the contracts earlier in August for work at the offices of District Judge Michael Gallagher on Byberry Road in Bensalem Township, District Judge Daniel Baranoski on Centre Street in Penndel Borough, and District Judge Lisa Gaier on California Road in Richland Township, the New Hope Free Press reported.
The upgrades respond to a mandate from the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts requiring all district courthouses to meet ADA standards.
Three local contractors won the work: S and S Building Group of Warrington Township for general construction at $202,900; AGH Mechanical Inc. of Northampton Township for mechanical and plumbing at $83,750; and Palman Electric Inc. of Lower Southampton Township for electrical work at $44,224.
Three offices per year
Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia, a Democrat who chairs the board, said the county plans to upgrade three additional courthouses each year until all 18 meet standards.
"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."
Dennis Pagliotti, deputy director of the Bucks County General Services Department, said every district courthouse in the county needs to be brought into compliance.
Former Commissioner Andy Warren, who still attends commissioners' meetings, questioned whether the courthouse upgrades should be folded into a broader engineering study of county properties. County officials said the ADA work operates on a separate schedule, driven by the state courts' mandate.
Doylestown Admin Building assessed separately
The exchange highlighted a parallel project closer to home for Doylestown residents. In early July, the county began an engineering assessment of its main Administration Building in Doylestown Borough after exterior brick near the entrance collapsed. That assessment is ongoing.
County officials stressed the two efforts are distinct: the courthouse ADA work follows a state compliance timeline, while the Administration Building evaluation addresses structural concerns at the county seat.
The county has not announced which three courthouses will receive ADA upgrades next or when those contracts will go before the commissioners. Bucks County Commissioners meetings are open to the public and held at the Administration Building at 55 E. Court St. in Doylestown.
