text: Northampton County considers razing aging Milides building to make way for more parking - The Morning Call
  Northampton County officials intend to knock down the Milides Building at 654 Wolf Ave. in Easton and turn the property into parking space for the Northampton County Courthouse. The building housed the Voter Registration office, which moved into the courthouse Friday, Sept. 21. (Tom Shortell | The Morning Call)
  Northampton County purchased the building at 654 Wolf Ave. in Easton with an eye toward eventually tearing it down.
  Eleven years later, the office building may finally be out of time.
  Director of Administration Charles Dertinger said Tuesday that Executive Lamont McClure's administration hopes to demolish the 50-year-old building and convert it into parking space for the Northampton County Courthouse across the street.
  Barring any surprises and assuming county council gives the plan its blessing, the new spaces should be available by next summe, he said.
  The building — known in county circles as the Milides building after its previous owner Gus Milides — has housed the county's Voter Registration Office since its purchase in 2007. But on Friday, Voter Registration moved into the courthouse after years of problems with the Milides Building.
  Earlier this year, Dertinger found the building's electrical system was faulty and needed immediate attention. It previously had been remediated for mold.
  Neither of those fixes address the fact that the building sits about 25 feet from an increasingly unstable and steep hill top. About a dozen parking spots near the back of the property have been roped off for over a year due to concerns about the hillside's stability.
  "The problem with that building is there is always a new problem," Dertinger said.
  The building's condition was a concern when county council approved its purchase in 2007. At the time, the plan was to knock down at least half the building to make way for an archives building
  Plans to convert the property into parking space are still in their early phases, he said. The county has not determined a cost estimate to demolish the building, stabilize the hill and pave it over. Easton planners and county council would have to give their go ahead before anything could move forward.
  Should the McClure administration get approval, it should help alleviate some of the parking issues that have plagued the courthouse for over a decade. During the busiest criminal court weeks, the four free parking lots overflow. If the Milides Building is knocked down, the county hopes to add another 60 or so parking spots to one of those lots.
  A news release from the county Tuesday said the Voter Registration office is now up and running in the courthouse, but a visit showed a work in progress.
  The din of a power drill could be heard as two handymen worked on the front counter. Walkways between desks were cluttered with filling cabinets as staff hustled to prepare for the coming general election. Registrar Dee Rumsey declined to comment,
  Dertinger said the Voter Registration office moved during one of its busiest periods, when it is receiving requests for absentee ballots and when it will start preparing the ballots for the general election.
  "We're coming up on the elections, and moving it was either going to be last week or not at all," Dertinger said.
  The office space now occupied by Voter Registration has been a revolving door for the county over the past two years.
  It had been the longtime home of the Department of Community and Economic Development. Former Executive John Brown moved them to the Human Services Building in Bethlehem Township. The office is located in a hallway used to transport prisoners to their court hearings, and Brown said it sent a negative opinion to potential business owners.
  Brown moved the county's Public Defender's office into the office space, but McClure moved the staff back to their former office in the courthouse's basement a few weeks ago to make way for Voter Registration.