The Bucks County Commissioners refuted rumors that they plan to convert a former law library in the Administration Building into a homeless shelter.
The rumor, which circulated on social media earlier this week, originated from a post by the Doylestown Republican Committee. It alleged that Democratic Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia was behind the plan and that her daughter, a county employee, would run the shelter in the heart of Doylestown Borough.
Ellis-Marseglia, along with Republican Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo and Democratic Commissioner Chairperson Bob Harvie, addressed the claims during a public meeting Wednesday.
Ellis-Marseglia firmly said the rumors were “untrue” and that the county is consolidating from two law libraries to one. They are not creating a homeless shelter in the room.
“The space is going to be used by human services to serve veterans and others seeking human services help,” Ellis-Marseglia said.
The county opened a new law library in the Bucks County Justice Center in 2015. It is located alongside other court offices and the jury selection center.
The older law library remained in the Administration Building, which formerly was the courthouse, across Main Street, before closing recently.
Harvie explained the consolidation was done with the approval of the county courts, which are statutorily required to operate a law library for legal staff, the public, the bar association, and county officials.
The commissioner chairperson said the old law library was largely unused due to the rise of online legal databases, which the county subscribes to for public use.
Stephen Watson, the county court’s administrator, told this news organization after the meeting that the decision was made to centralize the law library operations to the Justice Center at the request of county officials.
DiGirolamo assured residents the old law library space would be used for human services and The Hub, a center assisting residents with human services needs.
“We need the space for human services,” DiGirolamo said.
Bucks County Chief Operating Officer Margie McKevitt told the public the Board of Elections’ need for more room several years ago and displaced some human services offices in the Administration Building. The move prompted the county to seek additional room for those services and veterans affairs use.
Rachael Neff, the county’s director of human services, said the extra space will enable the county’s workforce to better assist residents.
The new space, according to officials, can be used by nonprofits, including domestic violence organizations and legal clinics.
Residents also raised concerns about law books being discarded, with the Bucks County Republican Committee sharing photos of books in a dumpster after the public meeting.
The commissioners said that any discarded books will be disposed with approval by the law librarian.
“As the Justice Center location – even with a contemplated expansion – has a much smaller footprint than the administration building location, difficult decisions were made regarding what resources would be relocated, and some books will be recycled or otherwise discarded,” said Watson, the court administrator.
Bucks County currently has one 24-hour homeless shelter in Bristol Township, and it is operated by the nonprofit Family Service Association of Bucks County. There have been calls for a second shelter to better serve the central or upper parts of the county, but no plans have surfaced in recent years.
Bucks County Community College has a collection of legal reference materials at its Newtown Township campus, but that collection is not overseen by the county courts.
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