Wmd Co. breaks ground for new judicial center
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- Published on Wednesday, 09 January 2013 13:42
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Westmoreland County officials have broken ground for the new Westmoreland County Judicial Center which will be constructed in Montross at a cost of $8.4 million over the next year on property adjacent to the county’s George English Memorial Building.
“This will be the heart and centerpiece for this community for decades to come,” said Circuit Court Judge Joseph Ellis at the ground breaking. Joining Ellis in digging the first spades full of earth to begin the project were Westmoreland Board of Supervisors Chairman Darryl Fisher, Supervisors W.W. Hynson and Rosemary Mahan, in addition to Sheriff C.O. Balderson and County Administrator Norman Risavi.
Andrew Schlosser of Schlosser Company, Inc., of Chesapeake, VA, the construction firm overseeing the project, promised ground breaking attendees, “We’ll get this project done on budget and on time.”
Risavi said Westmoreland County judges, court officials, the Commonwealth’s Attorney and Sheriff’s Department will move into the new judicial center early next year. That will free up space in the overcrowded English building which will be turned into offices for additional county officials.
The new 40,000-square foot judicial center will be a two story building that is being constructed with security as a prime concern. “This will be a good step toward solving the security issues we have in the county,” Mahan said. “It’s been a vital need,” Fisher said, “And, I am tickled to death that we have adopted the concept that this is not a courthouse. This is a judicial center.”
“Is has been a need for the county and part of our planning for sometime,” Risavi said, “There have been a number of security concerns about our present situation, so we are pleased that this is going to solve that problem.”
“The fact is we will now be able to have a facility that is up-to-date,” Sheriff Balderson said.
Richard Leggitt
