Moving Time for Clinton County Government
LOCK HAVEN – A little more than a year after Clinton County government completed the purchase of the old Piper Aircraft Corporation “blue building,” the relocation of county offices continues to their new home. A major step, the move to new offices for the county commissioners, will take place this weekend.
The county bought the three-story structure in early 2017 with plans to consolidate multiple county operations in the former Piper Aircraft Corporation headquarters. The purchase was from United Fire Group Insurance of Cedar Rapids, Iowa for $800,000 plus another $150,000 for its contents. Relocation project chairman/county commissioner Jeff Snyder said related costs put the final purchase price at $975,000.
Snyder said county taxpayers will benefit from what he called “the cheapest, most efficient way” of providing needed space for existing county services. He said previous boards of commissioners had talked of the need for expansion and cost estimates were in the $2 million range.
Snyder took local media on a tour this week, noting where the various county departments are currently or soon will be located. The transition occurs as the Davis Insurance Agency plans to relocate its offices from the old Piper building to a renovated structure on E. Church St. in Lock Haven. Hopefully, Snyder said, Davis will be out and all the county operations will be in their new home by August.
He ticked off the changes: already in their new home are the Management Information Systems and Children and Youth Services and the county finances department. He noted Children and Youth’s Family Centered Services are in their new location at a savings of $1,900 a month, the rent paid at the agency’s previous location off Grove Street.
Other relocations from either the county Garden Building or Court House include Geographic Information Systems, the Planning Department, the register and recorder’s office, the assessor’s office and the treasurer’s office, including the auditors.
The transition will include the relocation of the Penn State Agricultural Extension and Conservation District from a county-owned property along Route 64 in Porter Township to the Garden Building; that building will be placed on the market. Additionally the county sheriff’s department will move from the courthouse basement to the old register and recorder’s office on the courthouse first floor. The offices of district attorney will move to the courthouse area previously occupied by the county treasurer and assessment office.
Snyder said the new home will be referred to as the “Piper Building” and new signage will go up once the Davis firm relocates. The new address will be 2 Piper Way as the nearby Piper Museum has the 1 Piper Way address.
Much of the transition work has been carried out by the county’s maintenance staff and Snyder lauded the efforts of Mike Duck, Chip Killinger, Gary Litz and Nick Gentzyl.
The Piper building had been on the market for some five years. Snyder said major renovations had been untaken by the previous owners in 2001 and 2002.
Snyder said a public open house will be held at some future date once all the set-up/transfer work has been completed.
