Workers from Uhl Construction start to put up the new siding panels Wednesday on the Butler County Government Center. Protective covering remains on some of the panels but will be removed.

The bright metal tracks that have crisscrossed the Butler County Government Center for a good part of the winter will soon be covered by the brown panels that began arriving two weeks ago.

Mike Hillwig, the county electrician, said on Wednesday that the panels arrive at the building behind the courthouse according to sections of the building so they can be unloaded and immediately installed.

Another shipment is then placed at the next section and crews from Uhl Construction hang them.

“They have it organized so (the panels) come in and (crews) start at a certain point and work their way around the building,” Hillwig said.

He said workers began this week hanging the panels on the tracks on the south and west sides of the government center.

The panels will also provide an extra layer of insulation for the building, Hillwig said, which could result in energy savings for the county.

The blank areas around the windows will accommodate new windows that will be flush with the exterior of the building, unlike the current, recessed windows.

“It'll look like a whole new building when they're done,” Hillwig said.

The building face-lift was necessitated by the old panels reaching the end of their life span as predicted.

The existing panels were installed in 1991, when the county government center was built.

Another new feature of the facade will be a blue entrance sign over the front door that will read “Butler County Government Center.”

That sign is currently built and waiting for the metal exterior where the lettering will be hung.

The address will be displayed on the new overhang right below the entrance sign, Hillwig said.

The project is expected to be complete by June.