Mercer County commissioners Thursday hired a Sandy Creek Township man with accounting and construction backgrounds to act as a middleman between the board and contractors on the $10 million courthouse renovation project.

Roger Cline is to start working Monday as the site supervisor. Exterior renovations have already been completed. Work inside the courthouse began this year. The supervisor's primary responsibilities are ensuring project specifications are being met and reviewing contractors' proposed change orders with the architect to ensure that the orders are necessary and appropriately priced before presenting the requests to commissioners for approval.

"Mr. Cline will be our eyes and ears," said Commissioner Olivia M. Lazor.

Project architect 4M Corp., based in Poland, Ohio, had been doubling as the site supervisor or clerk of the works on the project and has been assisted by county Personnel Director Bill Boyle.

"They (4M Corp.) have been pretty accessible to this point in the project, but they can't be there everyday or always there at the very minute we need them," said Mrs. Lazor.

"As we get into the more complex stages of the project, we want to do things as efficiently and quickly as we can," said Mrs. Lazor.

Cline, one of six applicants for the job, is to work up to 20 hours a week at a rate of $20 an hour. The project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2003, Mrs. Lazor said.

Mercer County Controller Tom Amundsen said Cline, a Sandy Creek Township supervisor, formerly worked as a public accountant for 12 years at the former Bell & Co. in Meadville. He runs an excavation business.