After much hand-wringing and wailing and gnashing of teeth, the Martin Township Board Wednesday evening finally decided to proceed with the expansion of the township hall at a cost of $620,000.
The township voted to accept a $250,000 loan from United Bank at 2.85% interest over 15 years, which Treasurer Sue Tiemeyer estimated that would cost the township between $16,000 and $18,000 a year.
The remainder of the bill will be paid from the township’s estimated fund balance of $500,000.
The Township Board started to wrestle with this question about a year ago when Tiemeyer and Clerk Rachelle Smit said there just isn’t enough office space for them to do their jobs properly. The office they share is in the east end of the township hall and community center.
The board hired Dan Vos of The Architect Group of Grand Rapids to come up with plans and drawings suggesting what needs to be done. Vos concluded the 1,000-square-foot office expansion needs to extend from the township hall to the north, thereby cutting down on parking lot space, but paving the way for fire department expansion in the future.
Board members acknowledged the massive cost, but insisted the need is real and said they had explored many other options, but kept coming back to this as the best answer.
“It’s probably not going to be any cheaper than it is right now,” said Supervisor Glenn Leep.
“In the past year, we’ve come to realize how badly we need more office space,” Tiemeyer said.
Smit concurred, saying, “I don’t know of any other option that we didn’t explore. We feel we’ve looked at every possible alternative before making this decision.”
Indeed, the board looked at converting the now closed Carman Pharmacy building and moving into the former PNC Ban at the four corners downtown. They also talked about expanding offices from the JC Wheeler Library across the street.
But all three alternatives presented other problems and added costs and the clerk and treasurer said there is an advantage in having their offices located in the same building where people vote.
Trustee John Schipper said he’s been told that work on the project probably can begin early next month.
