MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Monongalia County Courthouse is accepting bids for renovations to the courthouse lobby.
Commissioners approved a request for proposals (RFP) during their meeting last week. Work will be coordinated with renovations to the County Clerk’s Office that are scheduled to occur around the same time.
“This is to get our project started at the lobby, redoing the security area and the general aesthetic look,” said Commissioner Jeff Arnett. “And also, bumping out a wall into the old circuit clerk’s office,” he said.
Renovations to the courthouse lobby will focus on expanding space for deputies who provide security at the main entrance. The area was previously occupied by the director of the Monongalia Morgantown Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Monongalia County Office of Planning. The area will be opened up to accommodate deputies and metal detectors at the entrance. The remaining space would account for an expansion of the County Clerk’s Office.
“This is something that started a while back, this is the space that was occupied by planning and the MMMPO Director, they moved downstairs,” said Commission President Sean Sikora. “This space is going to be occupied as soon as you walk in, looking straight forward behind the door,” he said.
Plans to renovate the lobby of the Monongalia County Courthouse originally stemmed from the renovation of first-floor offices affected by the expansion of the County Clerk’s Office. After it was determined that more space was needed to expand the entrance so more people could enter through metal detectors without barging into security equipment, the expansion of the lobby was supported by the commission.
“Before we got too far into the renovation of that space, it became evident that we should look at the security aspects of our lobby,” said Sikora.
Commissioners hope to award a contract within the next couple of months and begin work on the lobby by the end of the year.
“It won’t cause any disruptions, to count in the RFP, all work would need to be done after hours or on weekends or holidays,” said Sikora. “We anticipate there should be no interruptions to the ingress and regress of the courthouse,” he said.