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New county
building
to open in early 2009
By Duane Good, Editor |

Local, Dauphin County and state
officials are pictured breaking ground for the new
Upper Dauphin Human Services Center, scheduled for
completion in early 2009.
(Sentinel photo by Duane Good) |
Ground was
broken May 1 for what Dauphin County officials have
named the Upper Dauphin Human Services Center, a new
building scheduled for completion in early 2009.
The building,
which will house several human service agencies and
satellite offices for county government, will be
located at 25 State Road beside the state police
barracks east of Elizabethville. It was designed to
be 10,292-square-feet in size, with all offices to
be located on one floor.
The building
will offer local residents access to services in one
modern building in a location central to most
residents of northern Dauphin County, according to
county officials. |
As of press time, the
building is scheduled to house Capital Area Transit
Share-A-Ride, Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, Edgewater
Human Services, Information and Referral Services and
Keystone Human Services.
Government satellite
offices planned for the building include Area Agency on
Aging, Adult Probation, Children and Youth Services,
Department of Drug and Alcohol Services, Mental
Health/Mental Retardation, and Office of Vocational
Rehabilitation.
At this time, the
Upper Dauphin Human Services Center Inc., currently located
in Elizabethville and active in northern Dauphin County
since 1977, wants to continue operating in some form and has
made its case to county officials for continuing its
services, either in the new building or at its existing
location. County officials said they also want the center to
continue its work, meeting specific needs that can't be met
otherwise.
The new building was
several years in development and will bring county offices
and other human service agencies - some of which currently
are in other buildings in the area - together under one
roof, according to county Commissioner George Hartwick III,
who spoke at the groundbreaking.
"We believe the
residents of upper Dauphin County are deserving of the same
services as residents in the lower part of the county,''
Hartwick said.
State Sen. Jeffrey
Piccola and state Rep. Sue Helm also spoke at the
groundbreaking and praised the building - and the services
it will house - as necessary to local residents.
The building's site
and design were developed with input from a 45-member
Advisory Panel and Location/Image Subcommitee of the panel.
"It was a joint
effort. Many discussions were held before we reached a
final decision,'' said Advisory Panel member Susan Jacobs,
executive director of the Northern Dauphin County Branch
YMCA.
State and federal
funding will be used to finance the building's construction.
No monies from Dauphin County's General Fund will be used,
Hartwick said at the groundbreaking.
T.L. Rowe of
Millersburg is the general contractor for the building
project. The property for the building was provided through
Donlo Partnership, also locally based.
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