Supervisors should rethink government center decision
Editorial

Nine years of planning went down the tubes last week. The Antrim Township board of supervisors voted 3-2 to cease consideration of the proposed municipal government complex until January. The rationale was that two positions were up for election in November and the winners could give input on the future of the project.

Board members are not elected to delay decisions until the seating arrangement suits them. They are elected to act in a timely manner on all issues that surface.

The government center has been a hotly-contested issue for the past year, but it has been in discussion since 1998. To date over $500,000 has been spent to reach the point of a second bidding, which was to be advertised this month. Engineering and architectural fees in 2007 alone were close to $150,000. Those fees were approximately $90,000 and $307,000, respectively, in 2005 and 2006.

Additional expenses included evaluating 14 sites before settling on the property on Antrim Way South, which was sold to the township at below appraised value. For a multitude of reasons, the current location of the township building is not suitable for a modern government center.

Opponents to the center did not like the $6.6 million pricetag from the first round of bids opened in March. A petition with 1,524 signatures was presented to the board at a hearing the following week. The board got the message. It rejected the bids and scheduled a work session to discuss the project.

In July the architect presented plans for a redesigned complex. She predicted the scaled-back project would save the township up to $2 million. The office building itself could be done for maybe $1.4 million. Each of the four buildings would be bid separately, which provides options, possibly utilizing both sites. The board voted 5-0 for her to proceed. She was ready to give the township the bid specs right about now.

And now is the time to get bids. The construction slump is in full swing. Contractors want work and would likely give very competitive bids.

The money is in the bank. Antrim Township has put aside $4.2 million from landfill fees for this project. Another $1 million is due this year from a loan to the Antrim Township Municipal Authority. The land is paid for. The current site is appraised for $1.3 million. Interested buyers have surfaced. The sale would put the property back into the commercial tax base.

The board responsibly addressed the cost of the facility and directed the process to this critical point. Non-refundable tax dollars have been spent for the background work. Now is the time to take the next step. Get those bids.