District Court Project Expected to Conclude This Month

District Judge Paul Leo is expected to relocate his Hatboro court to a new space being outfitted in the Victorian Village plaza next month.

The timing of the court's move from the second floor of Hatboro's borough hall hinges on completion of the new space, which was originally supposed to conclude on Sept. 1 and was extended to Nov. 5. This week officials said the building would be ready for move-in by Dec. 31. 

But, before construction can wrap up, the borough council must consider, at its Dec. 16 meeting, a $9,078 change order–the 20th to date for the project–related to duct work and air-conditioning, according to Council President John Zygmont. 

In all, the project has grown from its original $292,200 outfitting cost to a contract totaling $332,368.88, according to Borough Manager Fred Zollers.

"I don’t think anybody’s happy about doing change orders," Zygmont said, adding that sketches date back to 2007 or 2008. "There are changes that the county wants. There are changes that are necessitiated due to what the actual conditions are going to be and what the architect drew."

Hatboro would be responsible for the first $150,000 to outfit the space and the remainder would be split between Hatboro and the county, Zygmont had said previously. The borough expects to recoup its out-of-pocket expenses through $70,000 in annual lease fees over a 10-year period, he had said.