New office in works for magistrate’s office in BP, USC
District Judge Ronald Arnoni stands in front of what will be the wall of his courtroom when Magisterial District 05-2-20’s new office opens in the fall.
District Judge Ronald Arnoni points out the location of the courtroom in plans for the new office.
The Magisterial District 05-2-20 office is going to move about half a mile east.
At this point, the metal framing is in place for the walls. But that’s about it.
Various cables, wires and pieces of ductwork hang from unfinished ceilings, while doors, cabinets and patches of insulation sit on yet-to-be carpeted floors, awaiting their disposition.
By the fall, though, everything will be in place and ready to go for the opening of a new office for Magisterial District 05-2-20, which covers Bethel Park and Upper St. Clair.
“The court’s size will triple,” District Judge Ronald Arnoni said.
And that’s out of necessity since his caseload has doubled since 2015. Combine that with the 2008 merger of separate districts for each municipality into one, and the physical constraints of the longtime office at the Bethel Park Municipal Building have been pushed to the limit.
The new location will be about half-mile away in the office building owned by John Hiras at 2414 Lytle Road in Bethel Park. The lease is for 10 years, Arnoni said, with a five-year option.
His predecessor, the late Robert Wyda, actually began searching for a larger base of operations following the merger.
“He was looking and had some problems finding a place,” Arnoni said, “and it took me several years to do a lot of legwork and a lot of looking around, and working with Allegheny County and the state.”
Since taking over for Wyda after his death in 2013 and winning re-election two years later, Arnoni has handled the magisterial needs of a total population exceeding 50,000, plus the people who work, shop and travel locally.
“On a regular day, we have almost 100,000 people in this district. It’s a big, big place with a lot of things going on,” he said.
At its current location, his office shares a common entrance with the Bethel Park Police Department, and the proximity presents another reason to move.
“The judicial code states that the court is supposed to be neutral and detached,” Arnoni explained. “The state and the county felt it fair to have some separation, which didn’t exist here.”
The additional space at the new location applies to just about every aspect of the court’s operation.
Staff members, for example, will have plenty of room in which to conduct their jobs, and they can look forward to having use of a kitchenette for lunch and breaks.
“In this, I was also really looking out for them, and not just from an efficiency standpoint,” Arnoni said. “You want a nicer working environment.”
Safety is a major consideration, too, as plans call for a separate entrance and holding area for prisoners whose cases are being adjudicated.
The new location also allows for a greater measure of privacy. Members of the public entering the courtroom will pass through one door into a vestibule, and then through a second door, to help keep sound leakage to a minimum.
For the sake of convenience, a computer kiosk in the main area will allow for the “e-payment” of fines.
Once he has a better idea of when work will wrap up, Arnoni plans to announce a date for a grand opening.
“This court is going to be something that everyone in this district is proud of,” he said. “I do think we will have one of the nicer courts in Allegheny County.”