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North Strabane supervisors hear revised municipal building plans

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North Strabane Township supervisors Tuesday were presented with revised plans for a major facilities project they were told last month would total $29.6 million, an unexpected figure that caused them to seek other options.

RSSC Architecture of Pittsburgh presented two options Tuesday night, a one-building concept and two-building concept, with price tags of $20.1 million and $21.3 million, respectively.

In September, plans were unveiled for a facilities project that included a new municipal building, a public safety building to house police, fire and emergency management, and a public works facility.

Supervisors, however, were shocked to learn the project was estimated to cost twice the amount they wanted to spend.

Project manager Gregory Kittridge of Waller Corp. said in order to reduce costs, the square footage of each plan was reduced by approximately 19,000 to 20,000 square feet, to approximately 67,000 square feet. In both new options, other cost-saving cuts included eliminating the public works facility, the district judge’s office and a below-grade storage facility.

The plans included the public works facility as a separate line item, with an estimated cost of $3.8 million.

Township manager Frank Siffrinn said other options have surfaced since last month, however.

“Over the last several weeks, there have been some other options that have come to the township’s attention that may or may not impact the township’s decision moving forward,” said Siffrinn.

Supervisors met in executive session Tuesday to discuss those options.

Siffrinn said North Strabane, one of the fastest-growing municipalities in the region, has outgrown its current municipal building.

To finance the project, officials plan to extend a 2012 bond issue for construction of the municipal park, for which they pay about $890,000 yearly from the capital reserve fund. Most of that money comes from local share account payments the township receives as host to Meadows Racetrack & Casino.

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