While Butler County moves closer to constructing a new office building next to the government center, the design is being refined.

County Commissioner Jim Eckstein said at the commissioners’ meeting Wednesday the proposed design from the Butler division of the architectural firm Stantec calls for a five-floor building with a garage.

“The first floor is supposed to be luxury parking for the social elite, the commissioners and the judges,” he said.

Eckstein said he would park in the city tier garage to conserve parking space.

He explained there doesn’t need to be a new office building that has extra room to accommodate human services when state cuts would hinder growth in that area of government.

“The future doesn’t look good for expanding human services,” Eckstein said.

Carmine Scotece, director of county human services, said in an interview government-mandated programs have only grown since the government center was built.

“We’ve basically been in the same footprint since 1991,” he said.

Scotece said multiple designs of the building show a different number of floors.

He said the government center was supposed to handle 20 years of growth but only lasted 10 years before the county ran out of room.

One human services department won’t be relocated into the new building no matter how many floors there are.

Scotece said the Area Agency on Aging would remain at the Sunnyview complex in Butler Township.

He said state cuts would inhibit how much money can be reimbursed to the county. The state reimburses some rental and utility costs for human services departments, so the county can charge rent to them.

Scotece said AAA’s rent would be cheaper to stay where it is.

“We felt we were unable to make that rent,” he said about what would be charged to occupy space in a new county building. “They are going to charge fair market value.”

Although AAA would not relocate, Scotece said there still is sufficient demand for office space to warrant a new building.

“We do have people set up in hallways,” he said about workers in the government center.

Scotece pointed out room needs to be made for county adult probation, which currently is housed in the city tier garage for an annual $100,000 cost.

He said none of the conceptual designs he saw showed a basement garage. Scotece did spot the depiction of a parking area under an overhang.

Sheriff Mike Slupe said in an interview Stantec revises the design as issues arise.

“The initial design shown to me had a security flaw in it,” he said.

Slupe said the subsequent design addressed his concerns.

The current design includes a vehicle sally port, or secure entrance, for Slupe’s deputies to bring prisoners into the government center for court hearings.

The vehicles transporting the inmates would back into the sally port so no one would have to walk outside the building.

Under the current process, the vehicle is backed up to a garage door. While the inmates don’t venture outside, the deputies do.

“The new way will secure everybody,” Slupe said.

Eckstein during the meeting complained about officials such as Scotece and Slupe seeing designs long before he did on Tuesday afternoon.

“I don’t appreciate that,” Eckstein said. “As a county commissioner, I don’t want left out of the loop.”

Commissioner Bill McCarrier, board chairman, stressed the work Stantec has done so far was only laying the groundwork, which is far from having blueprints.

“He wanted their ideas,” McCarrier said about a Stantec architect consulting with county officials.

The commissioners on Wednesday approved seeking proposals from possible construction managers to oversee construction and awarded a contract to the Pittsburgh firm Dinsmore & Shohl to serve as bond counsel for borrowing the money needed for the project.

Eckstein, who favors buying a building over constructing a new one, accused McCarrier and Pinkerton of rushing through the process, saying it was going much faster than the previous analogy of dipping a toe in the water.

“We have our swimsuits on and we’re diving right in,” Eckstein said.

He asked why the county is looking to borrow money before a construction cost is solidified.

“We’re working at a fever pace,” Eckstein said.

Although the county has been working with a nearly $11 million construction estimate, officials discussed seeking roughly $14 million to cover this project and smaller ones.

Eckstein accused his fellow commissioner’s of wanting a new building so their names could be hanging on a plaque.

“Keep my name off the plaque,” he said. “Put Dale (Pinkerton), Bill McCarrier and the watchdog.”

Pinkerton pointed out he didn’t want a plaque on the prison on South Washington Street listing the commissioners’ names.

The county previously received possible financing proposals indicating a new building could be erected at the site of the former prison without impacting property taxes.