By David Fleet
Editor
Atlas Twp.- On Monday night the township board of trustees voted 5-0 OK’d $8,557 for a security system as part of ongoing renovations to the township hall.
Davison based Pal Alarm was accepted as the winning bid over Mayville based Teck4UFast with a bid of $13,500. There were four companies solicited for the system.
The price includes a card access, fire detection and a smoke alarm system. The architect did not include the security equipment in the design.
In March, at a cost of $634,000 the township board of trustees OK’d by a 5-0 vote township based Family Building Company for extensive remodeling of the township offices. Last year at a cost of $36,800 the township board of trustees approved NJB Architects Inc. to prepare the bidding and construction documents for the phases of the township building renovations. The 4,500-square-foot township hall was constructed in 1980 and is a steel building with metal stud infill. Demolition began in May and construction is now moving forward.
“Some issues in the building we were not aware of after the walls were opened during demolition,” said Tere Onica, township supervisor. “There was water getting into the building and these issues need to be addressed before it’s closed up with drywall. Let’s ‘Do it right and do it once.’ This building will be in good shape for the next 40 years. Keep in mind the cost to replace the hall with a new building would be more than $2 million.”
Some of the changes to the project included spray foam insulation for $33,000; a structural beam for the new addition; cement garage floor replaced, $14,000, window changes, added doors and vestibule framing. The total changes for June were $83,816. In July, an upgraded communications system for the meeting room $26,000 and $20,000, new concrete steps and handrails on the west side of building.
Deficiencies in the building were first reported by Davison based H2H Architects who assess the physical condition of the township hall during the summer of 2016.
The estimated construction time will be about four months and include renovation of the existing garage area into 640 square feet of new township office space.

In addition, renovation of the existing township office area and kitchen will include a 490 square feet addition, for the new community board room. The existing board room will be converted into a conference and storage rooms. The Genesee County Sheriff Deputies that work in the township will have a locker room along with additional work space.
The township board, land division, planning and zoning meetings will follow their regular schedules with meetings held at the Goodrich Library, 10237 Hegel Road., Goodrich, unless otherwise posted. All board meetings will return to the township hall location when construction is completed. Elected officials and staff can be reached by calling (810) 636-2548, FAX (810) 636-6244; Mail: 7386 S. Gale Rd., P.O. Box 277, Goodrich, Mich. 48438; and www.atlastownship.org.