Carbon County commissioners on Thursday agreed to a Jim Thorpe property for $95,000 to handle the need for more office space.

Commissioners Chairman Wayne Nothstein and Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard approved an agreement of sale between Edward M. Lewis, executor of the estate of Mark Rimsky, and the county for the property at 9 W. Fourth St. A Dollar & More store formerly occupied the site. Commissioner William O'Gurek was absent,Commissioners in May voted to approve a letter of intent with a potential purchase of the 4,000 square-foot property but have been looking at the site since February.Commissioners hired The Person Agency Inc. of Lehighton to appraise of the 4,000-square-foot property. They had also hired Seitz Brothers Inc. for asbestos sampling and testing at the property, at a cost of $1,249.The county has been on the hunt for additional office space since last year. Several departments are outgrowing their space, and room in the courthouse, its annex, and the Susquehanna Street building is insufficient.In a related matter, commissioners opened bids for several Community Development Block Grant projects, but tabled them for a week before awarding the jobs.Two companies bid on the job of replacing sidewalks and steps on High Street in Jim Thorpe. Bognet Inc. of Hazleton bid $18,560; Bill Anskis Company of Elysburg bid $62,975.Bids for roofing and siding the Weatherly library came from Berger Construction Company of Freeland for $116,810; Hutchison Construction of Hazleton bid $166,110.Two other projects failed to bring bids. They are to replace guardrails on White Street in Bowmanstown Borough and construction of a swale on Washington Street in East Side Borough.Commissioners also approved an agreement with Elizabeth Poor of Pittston, Luzerne County for criminal investigative services for the public defender's office at $60 an hour.In other matters, Nothstein briefly suspended Thursday's meeting to give Penn Forest Township auditor Matthew Schutter a chance to put down the bright yellow sign disparaging O'Gurek that he was holding up, or be removed from the building.Nothstein told Schutter the sign was inappropriate. Nothstein said "no comment" when Schutter asked him why the sign was offensive.Schutter refused to put down the sign, shouting about Constitutional rights, until Deputy Joseph Hager, speaking quietly, encouraged him to put down the sign or come with him."Be a gentleman and walk out," Hager advised.After some initial resistance, Hager succeeded in convincing Schutter to leave with him.Later, Schutter stood on the corner of Hazard Square, across from the courthouse, holding up the sign."It is really unfortunate that Mr. Schutter has ascertained a totally inexplicable opinion about how I feel both personally and professionally about all human beings," O'Gurek told the Times News Friday. "His contention that I am a homophobe is a sad documentary that borders on character assassination."O'Gurek said that Schutter's complaint stemmed from a visit to the county office two weeks ago when he wanted to file a complaint about the election process but was told that the complaint regarding the process would need to be filed in court, rather than with the commissioners.