As snow continued to pummel the region Sunday, Westmoreland County commissioners agreed to do something that had not been done in more than three decades: They shut down the courthouse.
Citing public safety concerns, commissioners ordered a one-day closure of the courthouse, postponing scheduled court hearings and canceling two public meetings.
“We decided to do this to protect the public and our employees,” Commissioner Sean Kertes said.
The courthouse in downtown Greensburg has, over the years, remained open during major weather events, an earthquake, the 2001 terror attacks and the coronavirus pandemic. Monday’s closure was the first since 1999, when a mid-morning ice storm resulted in courthouse workers being sent home and court and county operations shutting down for the day.
Former Commissioner Tom Balya, who was in his first term in office at the time and ultimately spent 16 years as commissioner, said that 1999 decision was made after the governor declared a state of emergency in the county because of the storm.
The courthouse remained open during subsequent storms, including a February 2010 blizzard that dumped up to 2 feet of snow.
As updated forecasts predicted growing snow totals late last week, commissioners met with the county’s public safety leaders to discuss options for dealing with the storm. A two-hour delay for the courthouse was initially implemented. However, as conditions worsened throughout Sunday, commissioners — after discussions with President Judge Christopher Feliciani — ordered a complete closure of the courthouse and county parks, Kertes said.
The county’s around-the-clock operations at Westmoreland Manor nursing home, the jail, the juvenile detention center and the 911 dispatching center operated as normal, officials said.
“Public safety is a priority. With many of our municipalities declaring emergencies, we thought it was best to keep people off the roads,” Kertes said.
Commissioner Ted Kopas said other factors were considered.
“Greensburg told us they couldn’t guarantee the parking lots would be cleared by Monday. So where were people going to park?” Kopas said.
Commissioners said meetings of the county’s retirement board and prison board will be rescheduled. Both were initially scheduled for Monday morning, then delayed to the afternoon and eventually canceled. County employees will be paid for the snow day.
Meanwhile, the county’s eight-person road crew worked throughout the storm to clear 52 miles of roads, Public Works Director Dante DeCario said.
“Things went well as our crews kept maintaining the roads. It was just a matter of keeping up with accumulations, and by this morning things were much better,” DeCario said.
The courthouse is expected to reopen for business at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. Parks also are slated to reopen in the morning.
