The Bucks County Commissioners recently approved the $639,000 purchase of more than 1,000 chairs for the new courthouse in Doylestown.
The new chairs will be purchased through Educational Furniture Solutions of West Point, Pa. The deal will provide the new courthouse, which is expected to be open by this time next year, with 1,195 chairs. The price of the chairs will be $325 a piece, Bucks County Director of Operations Jerry Anderson said at the December commissioners meeting.
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Throughout the courthouse, which is being dubbed the “Justice Center” by county officials, 589 chairs will be used in offices and the remainder will be spread through jury rooms, hallways, conference rooms, courtrooms, the cafe and various other locations.
The large purchase came about a month after controversy was raised when the commissioners spent tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars on chairs for 9-1-1 dispatchers that cost $970 each. County officials defended that purchase by saying dispatchers are sitting for 12 hours a day and can be longer if their is an emergency.
“The $970 cost per chair comes with a 10-year warranty, including six (6) years for parts – which equates to $87 per year for the mid-back model and $102 per year for the high-back model. I view this investment as part of the equipment our dispatchers need to perform their job function safely and comfortably,” Director of Emergency Services Scott T. Forster wrote in an editorial submitted to LevittownNow.com.
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Along with the latest county chair purchase also came approval of a $157,000 contract for Haworth Inc. of Michigan to supply and install some furniture. Anderson told the Commissioners bids for the new couthouse’s work stations is still out at bid.
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