The Hopkins Township Board Monday evening agreed to have Supervisor Mark Evans continue to pursue extension of the township hall.

The board decided to hire Fleis & VandenBrink to come up with architectural drawings for the proposed addition, to connect the township/village hall with the Hopkins Library.

The township has been using the south part of the library for board meetings and Evans has used a small adjacent office to conduct business. However, there has been considerable disagreement with the Library Board over how and how much payments should be made to the library for utilities use.

The Township Board continues to have its regular meetings at 7:30 p.m. on the second Monday of every month at the library. When the meetings start, the library often is still open and serving patrons. The very small meeting room is adjacent to the library director’s lair, as well as the space allotted for the greeter.

The Hopkins Village Council meets at 7 p.m. that same evening, the second Monday of the month, at the Township Hall, just a stone’s throw to the south of the library.

The issue has been discussed by township, village and library officials for a long time.

Evans told the Township Board Monday night that the Village Council is “not opposed to it. They have given this their approval.”

He said Fleis & VandenBrink will be asked to deal with particulars such as color, design and roof lines.

He promised Township Board members, “We’ll move forward (on the project) once we get the agreements signed.”

In other business Monday night, the Township Board:

• Was told by Evans that the annual Memorial Day observance will be held in-person at 10 a.m. Monday, May 31, at Maplewood Cemetery. The Rev. Mark Heijerman will be the speaker.
• Learned from County Commissioner Gale Dugan that a public hearing on a county-wide Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) ordinance will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday, June 10, at the County Services Building. He said as many as 200 people attended the County Board’s meeting on the subject earlier this month.
• Tabled a suggestion to take on cyber insurance services.
• Adopted an ordinance to participate in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s flood plain program.