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Dec. 2: Lima Township residents asked to weigh in on Township Hall options

Lima Township Hall
Lima Township Hall

By Jim Pruitt

A special meeting of the Lima Township Board of Trustees is set for Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. to listen to four options for the future of the venerable structure. The meeting is informational only, but residents are encouraged to attend and offer their ideas and suggestions.

The hall dates back to the 1830s and has been home to two congregations, a private outfit, and a grange hall over the years and still holds a prominent spot in the old Lima Village.

There are stained glass windows covered up at the front of the building.

The growth of the township has some folks thinking that a new hall is needed to adequately house elections and to offer upgraded facilities and handicap access. The basement is unusable and the bathrooms are not far behind.

An ad hoc committee was formed two years ago to study what could be done with the structure.

Despite its age, the hall is structurally sound, ad hoc committee member Bob Spink said. The structure is supported by oak 2-by-6 planks and a new roof was installed a year ago.

The committee will offer four options to the board at the meeting:

  • Do nothing
  • Build a new office and hall and raze the old one
  • Refurbish the hall and add offices
  • Add a 20-by 30-foot room onto the back of the hall to create a vestibule area, add new bathrooms, furnace, air conditioning, storage and a handicap-accessible entrance on the north side of the building
  • Cost estimates range from $250,000 to more than $600,000.

Each option has its own cost estimates (which are preliminary at best).

Supervisor Craig Maier favors constructing a new hall that can built at grade level and offer proper handicap access. The existing hall is built 5 feet above ground.

Maier believes the township needs a new hall since it’s growing to the point it will so be split into two precincts – thanks the addition of Thornton Farms. The development opened 75 lots and has sold 37 of them so far. And, there are plans to open Phase III, he said.

“Once we reach 3.000 voters, we have to have two precincts,” Maier said. “We don’t have the room for one precinct (now); there’s not enough space between voting booths.”

That may not be the case, Spink said. His discussions with the Washtenaw County clerk lead him to believe the current hall can be rearranged to handle two precincts.

“(The clerk) said you can have six precincts in one room,” Spink said.

A new hall could also mean the township offices could move back instead of leasing space from the Chelsea Area Construction Agency, Maier said. The current situation is ideal for the township and everyone “enjoys being there,” he said.

“It’s so convenient for people to come in here to get their zoning permits and go right next door to get their building permits, Maier said.

There’s no hurry to make a decision, he said.

“We have been working on this for 20 years,” Maier said. “Perhaps (CACA) would consider moving (here) and sell the building.”

That also may not be necessary as Spink says while the CACA building is up for sale, the price is so high it has not attracted any interest, so a long-term lease for the township is possible.

The township sent out surveys with the recent tax bills gauging interest from residents. The responses so far are 2 to 1 in favor of a new hall, but Maier said there is a lot of concern over how the township is going to pay for a new hall.

Timing could be of the essence, as it would be financially prudent to spend the money now while interest rates and building costs are low, Maier said.

Building a new hall may be the best use of township resources for the old structure, he said.

“There may be some historical significance and while you really can make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, in the end you still have a pig,” Maier said.

But local historian Arly Spink, Bob Spink’s wife, says she wants to make sure longtime residents have their voices heard. The survey is not scientific and shouldn’t be the sole guide for the board.

The survey lacked information on the history of the hall and she does not want the Thornton Farms residents, who do not have any strong links to the community, to have an undue influence, she said.

“People who have lived here all their lives should have influence,” Arly Spink said.

Bob Spink said there will be another public meeting early next year to obtain more input. The committee will lay out the data with the goal of asking better questions, he said.

If you’d like to contact James Pruitt, please email him at [email protected].

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