WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Williamsport City Hall is getting a makeover. Improvements to both the outside and inside of one of Billtown's most historic buildings are underway.
"These upgrades are long overdue, and my administration is making sure that they are completed, and that City Hall is accessible," said Williamsport Mayor Derek Slaughter.
A rendering shows a new ADA-accessible ramp that will be going in this year.
The city was sued the last year because the building was not fully accessible to people with disabilities. The city had to either find a new building or install a ramp by November.
"There is a lot of work that needs to be done in this building. It is an old building. The consent decree is in place, and we have to adhere to it and make the necessary accessibility upgrades, which is what we are doing," said Mayor Slaughter.
"The ramp was bid out two years ago, and it was rejected at that time, but we were able to take the same plans and the exact same design and essentially cut the cost in half this go around," said Jon Sander, the city engineer of Williamsport.
Other improvements being paid for by the city include an upgraded elevator, a new ADA-accessible sidewalk on the western side of the building, and two new ADA parking spots.
"We will have to see when the bids get back in, but roughly around $500,000 is what we are anticipating," said Slaughter.
"It is going to look great. We used the design firm who designed it two years ago. I am so glad that we were able to reuse their plan and design with a few modifications made by myself, and it is going to look great," said Sander.
The city hopes to have the majority of the project finished by the end of summer.