By David Fleet
Editor
Atlas Twp.- At a cost of $634,000 the township board of trustees OK’d by a 5-0 vote on Monday night, township based Family Building Company for extensive remodling 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 estimated construction time will be about seven months. The start date will be in May following the election.
The project will include renovation of the existing garage area with a 640 square foot addition, into new township office space.

Phase II will be the renovation of the existing township office area and kitchen with a 490 square foot addition, into the new community board room. Phase III will be renovation of the existing board room into conference and storage rooms.
“If we can get the project down quicker it will offset the cost of the trailer,” said Tere Onica, township supervisor. “It will save money in the long run.”
A fully functioning 50-by-12 feet trailer office will be set up for township business. It is yet to be determined where the monthly township meetings will be conducted.
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.
The township will use some of their fund balance to pay cash for this project.
In August 2017 the board moved forward with renovations to the township hall including reconstruction of exterior walls, insulation, repairs to the hall entrance way, foyer and reconfiguring the two bathrooms. The work was done by Swartz Creek based RBF Construction. The stone work on the front of the building remained the same. The township had budgeted $65,000 for building repairs last year. The costs included $6,669 for the roof, water softener and pest control. Last year the board of trustees voted 5-0 to amend the budget and move a total of $100,000 from the general fund to cover the shortfall of $89,879 in the building repairs budget. The total cost of the phase I project was $148,210.
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.