OFFICES HEADED TO 'ANNEX'
Potter County officials moving out of courthouse

Some Potter County offices are moving into the former Coudersport Elementary School, part of a strategy to relieve a space crunch at the courthouse.

The multi-million dollar building on North Main and Water streets was donated to the county by Time Warner, after that corporation purchased former Adelphia Communications Corp. assets in Coudersport in 2006.

Commissioners Ken Wingo, John Torok and Cathy Bowers in May announced that the former school would be known as the Gunzburger Annex. It is a memorial to F. W. Gunzburger, who was chief commissioners' clerk for more than six decades and served for much of that time as chief assessor, director of public welfare, director of elections and director of veterans' affairs.

Potter County Register and Recorder Gary Kelsey and staff have already moved operations to the Gunzburger Annex.

The commissioners have also contracted with Zito Media of Coudersport for a telephone system in the annex, at a cost of $13,000 for installation and $4,000 annually for operation and maintenance over five years.

Many county employees have toured the building. Some have expressed concerns about what they perceive as a poorly planned transition.

At the same time, all three of the incoming commissioners - Doug Morley, Paul Heimel and Susan Kefover - have advocated a more cautious approach to filling the former school. Wingo, Torok and Bowers leave office at the end of the year.

One outstanding issue is the status of the former L.L. Smith School in Roulette, currently owned by the county and occupied by managers and dozens of staffers with Potter County Human Services. The current commissioners have said they support relocating that operation to the Gunzburger Annex.