Carbon County is proceeding with purchasing a building in Lehighton to be able to provide more space for its Children and Youth Services department.

The county commissioners voted 2-1 to enter into an agreement of sale with St. Luke’s Hospital of Bethlehem for the purchase of 525 Iron St., Lehighton, for a purchase price of $510,000. Commissioner Chris Lukasevich, who asked that the motion be tabled until a feasibility study was completed, cast the sole no vote.

The building in question currently houses the St. Luke’s wound care center and additional empty office space. It has 9,641 square feet of space usable on the main floor, with an additional 5,000 square feet of space in the basement and 1,904 square feet of unrenovated space in the front of the building.

Under the terms of the agreement with St. Luke’s, if the sale goes through, the hospital system would continue to rent the space for wound care for a year at a cost of $1,666.67 per month plus a pro rata share of operating costs. Wound care will eventually relocate to Franklin Township once a medical building that St. Luke’s is proposing is constructed.

Prior to the vote, the commissioners split on their thoughts regarding the purchase, not because of the purchase, but rather because they were approving an agreement of sale before the feasibility study, which was also approved Thursday, was completed.

Lukasevich said that, while he isn’t against buying the building if the study would say it will work, he has looked at the previous feasibility study completed for Children and Youth when the county was looking at purchasing 410 Center Ave. in Jim Thorpe and the space doesn’t seem to match the needs.

Under the previous feasibility study, Children and Youth would need between 10,383.5 square feet and 14,274 square feet of space for optimal use.

Lukasevich also said up to 48 employees wold utilize the space.

He asked that the county table the action to enter into an agreement of sale just until the feasibility study by Boyle Construction was completed.

“It appears to me we are a little bit out of order,” Lukasevich said, showing off a chart he created using the number of employees versus the spacing they are asking for. “It’s not my intent to say this building won’t work. It might work, but what I want to say is I would prefer we table signing the contract until Boyle comes back and says the 48 individuals that are planned for this building … can indeed fit into the space.

He suggested tabling the motion for one week and changing it to a letter with the intent to purchase.

“Let’s play out the assessment to ensure we have a space that is going to accommodate our need.”

Commissioner Rocky Ahner, who has been looking at this building for nearly a year, felt the opposite.

He pointed out that in the former adult day services room, approximately 22 work areas could be created between cubicles and offices. The remaining portion of the building, excluding wound care for now, would allow for additional space for 18 employees, as well as a conference room.

Carbon County currently has 26 employees in the Children and Youth department but will be expanding to help lower the caseloads per caseworker as per the state requirements. That department uses 4,800 square feet at its present location in Jim Thorpe, but has outgrown that size.

Ahner pointed out that in the recommendations from the Children and Youth director, a courtroom was in that list. A courtroom could not be put in the Lehighton building based on zoning, but he felt that portion should remain in the courthouse in Jim Thorpe anyway.

He said that when you look at this building, it is laid out where the county could move in quickly.

“It’s cleaned out, everything’s ready,” he said. “… If somebody would have found a place that has 10,000 square feet and it wouldn’t cost us $10 million to do it, I would have been on board before, but this is a place we can get the Children and Youth out of the town and get them at a secured place.”

Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein agreed with most points Ahner made, saying that the county has been looking at additional office space for years without any luck.

He cited the future courthouse renovation too that, if the county moved Children and Youth, would free up some space to help move another department during those renovations next year.

“I feel we need to move forward with ownership of this building,” Nothstein said. “… I feel this building will suit our needs, maybe not for more than 10 years, but it will certainly suit our needs for the next five to 10 years.

“We have too many offices in the courthouse that are overcrowded and in need of space and I feel like now is the time to move.”