Pocono News Section

Space Study Unveiled in Lackawanna County

Space Study Unveiled in Lackawanna County - Friday, November 6, 2009 at 5:39PM EST

Reported by: Eric Deabill
Friday, Nov 6, 2009 @ 05:39pm EST
SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY - A long-awaited space study was released Friday morning in Lackawanna County. Commissioners are looking for ways to save money and consolidate services in adminstration offices.

When many people look for help from the government, they don't know where to go. Some offices are in the Electric City Building, others in the Murray Building while others are in the Brooks Building. People like Ray Herron say it takes a roadmap to figure out where to go.

"Sometimes you have to go to one building and ask if you're doing something specific then they've got to chase you to another building and then you get to that building and they say 'sorry wrong place.'"

Enter the results of a new space study that were unveiled Friday. The goal is to help commissioners cut down confusion and rent costs by consolidating resources.

"We lease right now over $1.4 million worth of space and we need to cut that down," Commissioner Corey O'Brien said.

The study took more than a year to complete. It cost $200,000. Consultants say some county departments just simply waste too much space.

"We've alotted 'x number' of square feet for a particular type of job where they might be renting a lot more for that person," consultant John Palumbo said.

Right now, Lackawanna County owns only nine of the 27 buildings where its offices and departments are located. O'Brien wants to change that.

"We want to look long-term to owning because if you own, you have an asset at the end of the day instead of just throwing money out the window," O'Brien said.

As for taxpayers, they already have some suggestions.

"If you took people out of central city it would relieve some of the conjestion. They could do some of their city business on the outskirts instead of everybody coming downtown," Herron said.

The space study was done in three phases. The first phase of the study is available at the Albright Library in Scranton or online at www. lackawannacounty. org.