It’s close quarters for Antrim staff

The Antrim Township municipal building is undergoing renovations inside and out, and during the four month process, employees will put up with tight temporary quarters.

Six staff members work out of a 12 foot by 60 foot trailer in the north parking lot. They moved over essential furniture and equipment in early August, and were open for the public's business on the 6th. Visitors access the main office via a ramp, and the zoning office through either that door or steps at the other end of the unit.

Administrator Brad Graham and secretary Jennifer Becknell share an office that is "tiny by tiny", said Becknell.

However, they weren't complaining about the 12 by 12 space.

"I've had worse offices," said Graham.

They admit that with the contained area, extraneous noise is an issue when talking on the telephone or with a visitor.

The zoning office, home to Sylvia House and Lynda Beckwith, is larger, because they see the most people and need room to lay out development plans. Beckwith was actually excited because her desk was in front of a window, something she did not have before.

Receptionist Joyce A. Nowell and billing clerk Rose Knable work from a long, narrow space, with a counter defining the hallway. Knable laughed that a bathroom was the most spacious part of the trailer.  

A file room was set up in the garage, under a tent with a zippered door. It has lights, so people can search for records with the door closed.

Some preliminary work has already been done by the township. The garages were painted tan. They had been green and white. The back along I-81 had been three colors. New garage doors were put in. LED lights were installed in the shop in the spring, and the laborers almost needed sunglasses for the brightness, Graham said. The salt storage shed to the south has a new roof, and may be painted or get new siding.

The exterior of the main building will have drivet and stone. The front will no longer be green and yellow, but a unified tan. The landscaping will also be updated in the project, with the retaining wall reconfigured to add more parking farther off Antrim Church Road.

The municipal building interior changes will be significant, with the meeting room moved to the south end, and the offices and lobby to the north end. The technology is also undergoing upgrades.

Graham said as many furnishings as it was practical were saved, and the rest will be sold at the Franklin County Council of Governments auction.

Bids for the renovation were awarded by the board of supervisors on July 23, with Waynesboro Construction Company the general contractor. Costs including electrical, plumbing and flooring, were approved at $563,000. The landscaping portion has yet to be awarded.

Already effective, all meetings of Antrim Township boards and committees have been moved to the Greencastle Senior Center, just north of the municipal site.