EASTON, Pa. — A new parking garage is on the way at Northampton County Courthouse.
County Council on Thursday voted 7-2 to approve a $35 million bond to fund its construction, despite lingering reservations from some members about its size and scope.
Along with the new three-story parking structure at 669 Washington St., estimated to cost about $21 million, the bond will pay for at least two other capital projects.
“We are expecting to have a little bit of money left over, which we would then repurpose for capital projects such as at the jail.”Mike Emili, public works director, Northampton County
It provides $6 million for the county’s emergency management department to upgrade the countywide radio system used by first responders from an old-school analogue system to a more modern digital network.
A further $6 million is earmarked to buy out the county’s lease of energy efficient building upgrades from Johnson Controls, including LED light bulbs, water-saving fixtures at the county prison and more economical heating and cooling systems.
Per the terms of the bond, officials can spend whatever funds remain on unspecified public safety improvements, or virtually any other capital project at the county government center.
“We are expecting to have a little bit of money left over, which we would then repurpose for capital projects such as at the jail,” county Public Works Director Mike Emili said.
“They are not immediate needs, they are projects we are foreseeing as being needs.”
'Cutting a blank check, for what?’
Thursday’s vote caps nearly a year of back-and-forth between the council and county administration toward funding a replacement parking deck.
Commissioners narrowly voted down a $64 million bond late last year that would have funded a 30,000-square-foot office building alongside the new garage.
The $35 million compromise measure emerged in January from discussions between county administration and Commissioner Jeff Corpora, County Executive Lamont McClure said.
“I'm going to be voting for this, and the public safety for our residents who visit this facility.”Jeff Warren, Northampton County Council
McClure and his administration have long contended that the existing structure, built nearly 50 years ago, is so decrepit as to be dangerous to people and property.
At the start of Thursday’s meeting, McClure passed around to members of council a photo of a damaged county-owned police car to make his point.
While the car was parked at the garage, a falling metal bracket shattered the car’s back window, he said.
Given the structure’s state of disrepair, none of the county council’s nine members said Thursday they would oppose a new garage.
A few, however, came out against the $35 million bond to fund it. Some, including Commissioner John Goffredo, would prefer to seek a smaller loan that narrowly funds the parking deck.
“I don't want to give you $35 million," said Goffredo, who voted against the bond. "I want to pay for a parking garage. I don't want to have to pay for other things that I'm not aware of.
"We're cutting a blank check, for what? We don't know what we're getting.”
'Public safety for our residents'
Goffredo also suggested officials should finish pre-construction design work before securing funding.
Without that design work, an estimate of construction costs is so imprecise as to be useless, he said.
Councilman John Brown, the other vote against issuing the bond, argued that the McClure administration, now in its final year, should let the next county executive decide how to approach the project.
Commissioner Jeff Warren, a Democrat and ally of the McClure administration, shot back that rejecting the deal would place people and property at risk.
“I'm going to be voting for this, and the public safety for our residents who visit this facility,” Warren said.
With the council’s approval in hand, officials can take the bond to market, a process which the administration projects will take a couple of months.
Pre-construction design and engineering work will last nine months to a year, and building the new parking deck will require about a year and a half, Emili said.
