By David Fleet
Editor
Atlas Twp.- The township hall will get a facelift.
By a vote of 5-0 on Monday night, the township board of trustees OK’d Swartz Creek based—RBF Construction for building renovations to the township hall, 7386 Gale Road. The cost of the project, which is expected to start just after Labor Day and be completed by the end of October will cost $148, 210.
The renovations will include reconstruction of exterior walls, insulation, repairs to the hall entrance way, foyer and reconfiguring the two bathrooms. The stone work on the front of the building will remain.
“Right now we are looking at buttoning up the exterior,” said Tere Onica, township supervisor. “We were looking at a much larger price tag for the outside work, insulation and repairs, it was several hundred thousand dollars. This is more palatable. It’s maintenance that needs to be done its an older building but there’s nothing wrong with the structure itself. We have a good foundation.”
The 4,500-square-foot township hall was constructed in 1980 and is a steel building with metal stud infill. Deficiencies in the building were reported by Davison based H2H Architects who assess the physical condition of the township hall during the summer of 2016. Currently the offices are for township officials and the Genesee County Sheriff deputies that patrol the township. Bugs, water damage, a significant lack of insulation and non compliance with ADA requirements were just a few of the issues that were reported. In addition, the building does not have a fire suppression system. Other interior issues reported were floor damage due to leaks, storefront frame damage, no barrier free entry, no van accessible parking and no barrier free toilets.
“The bathrooms are adding to the costs,” added Onica. “They are not barrier free or ADA compliant. It makes since to look at that now, they are going to be ripping out the foyer area, tile and glass.”
The township had budgeted $65,000 for building repairs for this fiscal year. About $6,669 for the roof, water softener and pest control has already been used on building maintenance. Leaving the township $58,330 budgeted funds for the project. As a result, the board of trustees voted 5-0 to amend the budget and move a total of $100,000 will be transferred from the general fund to cover the shortfall of $89,879 in the building repairs budget.
“We have building responsibilities,” she said. “If our community grows we’ll need office space.”