Courthouse spending is hot-button issue in Crawford race

May 16--MEADVILLE -- Party ballots for Crawford County commissioner will be crowded with names Tuesday.

Nine Republicans and four Democrats are seeking nominations for four-year terms on the county's three-member Board of Commissioners. All three seats are up for election.

Two sitting commissioners, Francis Weiderspahn, a Republican, and Democrat Sherman Allen are in the running for new terms. Republican Jack Lynch chose not to run.

Other Republican candidates are John Amato, Keith Bromley, Mike Forbes, Bob Hopkins, Robert Horvat, Daniel Orlasky, James Preston and Richard Zylak. Other Democratic candidates are Sam Byrd, Patricia Gillette and John Christopher Soff.

The hot-button issue for most of those candidates is the multimillion-dollar courthouse renovation and expansion. Commissioners have authorized a $28 million bond issue to renovate the 145-year-old courthouse on Diamond Park and construct a new four-story building for the county court system.

The cost is prohibitive, said Orlasky, 48, a Conneaut Lake real estate appraiser.

"We need to run the county like we would run a business, within a budget, and live within our means. The county hasn't done that," Orlasky said. "This $28 million courthouse project is a big part of that. I'd like to see it as a referendum on the ballot, and if the majority of people don't want it, and I don't think they do, then we should look at other ways to address it."

Total cost of the project, including interest over decades, will be about $46 million, Bromley said. Bromley, 58, a Titusville city councilman, owns and operates a bed-and-breakfast in Titusville.

"I'm very much against this project," Bromley said. "It's a very, very, very tough time to launch a project of this scope, and it will diminish the county's capability to do things in other areas."

Debt for the project will be crippling, said Forbes, 58, an electrician and Union Township supervisor.

"That kind of debt for 30 years, with decreasing population and ever-increasing taxes, is just too much to bear for Crawford County residents," Forbes said. "Why not rehabilitate the courthouse and use some of the buildings around the courthouse for additional offices and storage."

Necessary repairs to the courthouse should be made and expansion considered later, Preston said. Preston, 47, of Athens Township, is a manufacturing engineer.

"The courthouse needs renovations, and I'm not against that. However, we need to find another way to accomplish that without raising taxes," Preston said. "Maybe another building or smaller buildings could house some of the administration and staff, as long as we're not spending tons of money, raising taxes and putting people, especially the elderly, out of their homes."

Space available in existing buildings could house county departments and staff, said Horvat, 25, of Vernon Township. Horvat is earning a political science degree from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and works part time at Wesbury United Methodist Retirement Community.

"It's just way too much money to spend on this," Horvat said of the $28 million renovation and expansion plan. "For additional space needs, why not move some departments out of the courthouse. There are plenty of empty businesses and storefronts where we could rent space in the Meadville area."

County spending needs to be controlled, at the courthouse and across the county, said business owner and Crawford Central School Director John Amato, 56, of West Mead Township.

"Commissioners are supposed to be stewards of taxpayer money, and have the responsibility to spend public money wisely," Amato said. "We need to ask ourselves, in all situations, is this what we really need and can we do with less."

Democrats Gillette and Byrd also oppose the courthouse plan.

"We do not have the tax revenues to support this large expenditure. We don't have the money," said Gillette, 59, of Spring Township. Gillette is a teacher at Conneaut Area Senior High School. "There are things that have to be done; I absolutely agree with that. There are things that have been allowed to go on for years and need to be taken care of, but we need to prioritize and start with the department that has the greatest need."

The public was not privy to all of the planning and decision-making for the project, Byrd, 64, said. Byrd is a Meadville resident and retired Channellock machine operator.

"Commissioners now have a policy that limits public participation in business meetings and limits the public in addressing this issue and others," Byrd said. "Commissioners have already spent millions of dollars on the Talon property and will spend $250,000 to $300,000 in legal fees on the Conneaut Lake Park bankruptcy when they could have accepted the Economic Progress Alliance offer of $100,000 up front and repayment of the remaining tax debt within four years."

The Economic Progress Alliance of Crawford County had proposed paying $100,000 toward Conneaut Lake Park's $927,813 property tax debt to the county and other local taxing bodies from the insurance settlement on the park's burned-down Beach Club, and pay off the remaining debt within four years. Commissioners in 2014 rejected the offer, saying they are obligated to collect the full debt as soon as possible. The park declared bankruptcy in December. The issue of who's entitled to the insurance settlement -- the park, taxing authorities or park operators -- has not been legally resolved.

Commissioners bought the former Talon plant on Arch Street for $250,000 in 2011 for renovation as a courthouse annex. They later paid for asbestos mitigation and plumbing and electrical work for the building but decided that total renovations would be too costly.

"The old Talon site was one of the mistakes that these commissioners made in the recent past," Zylak, 60, of West Mead Township, said. Zylak is a geologist, retired teacher and owned and operated a commercial cleaning business. "Buying that building at all and moving courtrooms up there was just a terrible idea."

Zylak also opposes the new courthouse renovation and expansion plan. "As commissioner, I would work to prevent this $28 million justice center," he said.

Soff, 51, Meadville mayor and former Crawford Central School director, supports courthouse improvements.

"We are where we are in 2015 without a functional courthouse because for the past 20-plus years nothing has been done; we've allowed those decisions to be continually kicked down the road," Soff said. "There are very real safety issues with the courthouse that need to be addressed before something happens or someone gets hurt. We need to look at the proposed judicial center and do that correctly, then re-evaluate the space that we have at the courthouse, see where county finances are at that time and proceed."

Hopkins, 58, a county planner and chairman of the Crawford County Farmland Preservation Board, supports construction of a new judicial center.

"It's a multifaceted project that's been examined and analyzed numerous ways, and it's judicially driven; there's a whole other side of county government involved here beyond commissioners," Hopkins said. "After that, we need to see where we're at and work the numbers and renovate the courthouse after that. It doesn't all have to be done at once."

Weiderspahn and Allen voted for the bond issue for courthouse improvements and expansion, and said that the county is saving money in other areas, including a new self-insurance plan for employees and refusing salary increases. Commissioners refused raises in 2011 and 2014 and currently earn about $65,000.

"There has to be some type of, I don't call it expansion, but consolidation of courthouse facilities, and renovations to the existing building," Allen said. "There were buckets in the clock tower catching water coming in the roof before we replaced it. There are things that need to be done and are long overdue. The public doesn't seem to notice a lot of that."

Weiderspahn opposed the earlier plan to convert the Talon building to a courthouse annex and said the new plan will solve overcrowding and security issues and consolidates county offices and services for better efficiency, security and technology costs.

"With the way the courtrooms are now, the plaintiffs, defendants, lawyers, jurors, staff and public all use the same hallway, which is a major safety factor and could make it possible to tamper with a juror," Weiderspahn said. "We looked at doing some things here at the courthouse, but we'd spend as much money or close to it, and not address all the issues we'd address by building a facility in the north parking lot."

Two Republican and two Democratic candidates will win nominations on Tuesday.

VALERIE MYERS can be reached at 878-1913 or by e-mail. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNmyers.

Meet your Crawford County commissioner candidates

Republican candidates for nomination are:

John Amato

- Age: 56

- Family: Married, five children.

- Resides: West Mead Township.

- Occupation: Business owner, retired teacher, retired military.

- Education: Mansfield State University.

- Running because: "I believe public officials have a fiduciary responsibility to take care of taxpayers' money, and have the responsibility to spend it wisely. I also believe Crawford County's best days are ahead, and that there is a lot of talent and there are a lot of people with vision in the county, and I am the one to put a team together and bring that to the forefront."

- Info: www.facebook.com/electjohnamato.

Keith Bromley

- Age: 58

- Family: Married, seven children.

- Resides: Titusville

- Occupation: Own/operate bed-and-breakfast and commercial properties.

- Education: Titusville High School, Beaver County Community College aviation management degree.

- Running because: "I want to be part of the process to make Crawford County a better place to live, work and raise a family."

- Info: www.votekeithbromley.com, www.facebook.com/vote.keithbromley.

Mike Forbes

- Age: 58

- Family: Married, no children.

- Resides: Union Township

- Occupation: Electrician

- Education: Meadville High School

- Running because: We need to keep spending down and taxes down. To make a big leap into the future, you must take a step back and re-evaluate the past. We cannot afford to make mistakes which end up costing us in the long run.

- Info: www.facebook.com/mikeforbes4ccc.

Bob Hopkins

- Age: 58

- Family: Married, one child.

- Resides: Spartansburg

- Occupation: Land use planner, Crawford County Planning Commission.

- Education: Titusville High School, Clarion University of Pennsylvania.

- Running because: "I've been here a long time, 34 1/2 years, and there are successful projects that I want to see continued to keep moving Crawford County forward."

- More information: www.hopbobhop.com, https://www.facebook.com/hopbobhop.

Robert Horvat

- Age: 25

- Family: Single

- Resides: Vernon Township

- Occupation: Wesbury United Methodist Community

- Education: Will graduate in December with political science degree from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.

- Running because: "I want to improve the county and make it a better place, and I feel we need new leadership to look to the future."

- More information: www.facebook.com, Robert J. Horvat for Crawford County Commissioner.

Daniel Orlasky

- Age: 48

- Family: Divorced, two children.

- Resides: Conneaut Lake

- Occupation: Own and operate real estate appraisal company.

- Education: Linesville High School, attended Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.

- Running because: "I'd like to run the commissioners' office as I'd run my business, within a budget. The county needs to live within its means. It can't keep asking for more money when county population is decreasing."

James Scott Preston

- Age: 47

- Family: Single

- Resides: Athens Township

- Occupation: Manufacturing engineer

- Education: Crawford County Vocational Technical School, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.

- Running because: "I as commissioner will seek to cut government spending and taxes and to create opportunities to bring new industry and jobs into Crawford County. I will listen to what you would like to see accomplished and see how I can bring it about."

Francis Weiderspahn Jr.

- Age: 60

- Family: Married, two children.

- Resides: Fairfield Township

- Occupation: Crawford County commissioner, farmer.

- Education: Townville High School

- Running because: I've certainly enjoyed my first four years as commissioner. We've made a lot of positive changes, including reducing health-care costs and costs in other areas. But there's work to be done, and I'd like to put my experience to use."

- More information: voteweiderspahn.webs.com, Facebook: Francis Weiderspahn commissioner.

Richard Zylak

- Age: 60

- Family: Married, two children.

- Resides: West Mead Township

- Occupation: Retired from teaching school, work as geologist, and owning and operating commercial cleaning business.

- Education: Edinboro University of Pennsylvania

- Running because: "I'm concerned about the future of Crawford County."

- More information: www.electzylak.com

Democrats running for nomination for Crawford County commissioner are:

C. Sherman Allen

- Age: 60

- Family: Married, one stepdaughter.

- Resides: Conneaut Lake

- Occupation: County commissioner, auctioneer, partner in family dairy farm.

- Education: Conneaut Lake High School

- Running because: "I care."

Sam Byrd Jr.

- Age: 64

- Family: Widowed, seven children.

- Resides: Meadville

- Occupation: Retired Channellock machine operator.

- Education: Academy High School, Erie

- Running because: "I've attended many commissioners' meetings over the last four or five years and asked for concerns to be addressed to my satisfaction and probably many others'. Commissioners have been responsive only in making policies and procedures to limit the participation and comments of citizens."

Patricia Gillette

- Age: 59

- Family: Three children.

- Resides: Spring Township

- Occupation: Educator

- Education: Bachelor's degree, secondary education/social studies, art certification.

- Running because: "It is the right thing to do, to use my knowledge, experience, determination, agricultural and educational backgrounds to serve Crawford County as a fiduciary guardian of the people's hard-earned tax dollars."

John Christopher Soff

- Age: 51

- Family: Married, one child.

- Resides: Meadville

- Occupation: Mayor of Meadville.

- Education: Meadville High School, Pennsylvania State University.

- Running because: "In my 14 years as an elected official, I have developed a passion for local municipal government."

- More information: www.soffforcommissioner.com, www.facebook.com/soffforcommissioner, twitter @votesoff.

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