EDITOR’S NOTE: Dorr Township Deputy Supervisor Jim Martin has reported the cost of the new township hall building actually was $751,000 instead of $600,000. Most of teh costs were abrsorbed by the ARPA grant.
The Dorr Township Board Thursday night finally “got the ball rolling” on plans for the new township hall that used to be Crosswinds Church.
The board last January bought the building for $600,000, using mostly money received from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) because the current township hall no longer can handle officials and business conducted at the corner of 142nd Avenue and 18th Street, The old church and property is located west on 142nd Avenue.
But since the purchase, the Township Board hasn’t actually done much publicly is disclosing how the old church will be used as the new township hall. That came to and end at the public meeting Thursday.
Trustee John Tuinstra, who is a builder by trade, gave a presentation outlining where he believes offices, officials and services should be laid out in the new facility.
Clerk Debbie Sewers told Tuinstra, “I’ve been talking about this for the last three months, John, but nobody has seemed interested.”
Both Tuinstra and Sewers submitted their plans dealing with the suggested locations for the main entrance, printers, copiers and fax machines, room assigns ents for the clerk, treasurer, supervisor and assessor, a break room, closet space, the office manager who greets the public, closet space, and space for maintenance services.
In the end, the board as a whole moved to approve Sewers’ plan, but Tuinstra asked for an amendment to change the proposed location of the office manager’s room. His idea was defeated 5-2 with only affirmative votes coming from himself and Trustee Chandler Stanton.
Sewers’ plan was approved on a 4-3 vote, with Stanton, Tuinstra and Supervisor Jeff Miling voting “no.”
There was token good news for the Then & Now Historical Library, located across the street from the current township hall in what once was the old Dorr Township Library. Then & Now is a non-profit historical service and the township picks up the tab for utilities and rent.
Though there has been talk about forcing the historical library to find other quarters, Tuinstra’s plan essentially allows it stay where its — for now.
He stated, “It is more appealing to outside support from individuals, businesses and other municipalities . The current building will become more valuable real estate as the years progress, and land located near the center of the township will probably be less available.”
He recommended that Then & Now stay put for now and “the building should be available for maintenance once the library stops using it.”
