Staff who comprise the county’s consolidated Westmoreland Human Services department could be relocated to a centralized location.
County officials confirmed Tuesday preliminary talks are underway for a project that could see the county move more than 300 employees to the site of the county housing authority’s former headquarters on South Greengate Road in Hempfield.
Employees are working at various locations, including multiple offices at the courthouse and elsewhere in Greensburg and at Westmoreland County Community College near Youngwood.
“There’s nothing in stone yet,” Commissioner Sean Kertes said. “We want to consolidate our human services and create a walk-up center that is accessible to the public. It makes sense to find a location that has easy access, parking and is on the bus route.”
Commissioners reconstituted the human services department in 2023 to oversee social services, including the children’s bureau, behavioral health, area agency on aging, veterans affairs and drug overdose task force.
Human services account for about a third of the county’s $416.8 million budget.
Much of the department’s nearly two dozen administrative and fiscal staffers, technology, strategy and integration employees work out of rented offices at the community college.
About 40 Area Agency on Aging staffers work in offices rented by the housing authority at the Troutman’s Building, a former department store renovated into office space and low-income senior housing in downtown Greensburg.
Behavioral health, children’s bureau and veterans affairs staffers operate from the courthouse complex.
Human Services Director Rob Hamilton said the county’s overall integration includes consolidation of staff to a centralized location.
“We’re discussing how we can better serve the community,” Hamilton said, noting talks with the housing authority are among options the department is exploring as part of the proposed consolidation.
The housing authority has for the past decade looked for alternate uses for its former headquarters building, which is on the agency’s 40-acre property along South Greengate Road and Route 30 in Hempfield. Two apartment buildings for low-income seniors — South Greengate Commons and Odin View Apartments — have been built on the site, while much of the wooded property remains unused.
The authority relocated its headquarters to a new location across Greengate Road in 2016. It continues to use about 12,000 square feet of its former headquarters building for the agency’s weatherization program, maintenance staff and procurement, according to Director Michael Washowich.
Another 21,000 square feet of office space is available to a new tenant.
Housing authority officials have suggested a $2 million to $3 million renovation of the building could ready it for the county’s human services department in exchange for rental payments and a long-term lease.
“We’re waiting for the commissioners to greenlight it,” Washowich said.