PORT AUSTIN, Mich. -- Port Austin Township residents would rather not issue bond money intended to help finance the construction of a new township hall, according to unofficial election night results.
Voters took to the polls Tuesday to decide the township's referendum, which asked voters to approve issuing bonds up to $275,000. According to the results, they chose no by a narrow margin of 220 to 217.
"The results show to me that there are questions on what the right answer is for our current township hall and the way forward for what we do with our discretionary tax dollars and how we spend those," said township Supervisor Brandt Rousseaux. "I think we have a lot of work to do and I think the community now has indicated that we need to come together and start our healing process and work really hard to do what's best for everybody across the board. That's what I intend to focus on after this."
While the issuance of the bonds fell through, the construction of a new hall is still a possibility. Right now, the options the board has in front of it are building a new hall, a nine-year continuance of the lease at the current location, or a six-month lease extension at the current location.
"I think they (the voters) want us to do some hard work and actually show to them that the decisions that we're going to make are the ones that make sense budgetarily and responsibly and transparently for the future," Rousseaux said.
For the past decade, the township hall has been located in the Schillinger and Schillinger Insurance Agency building on North Van Dyke Road. The building is owned by Lou Schillinger and the township's lease agreement is set to expire May 31.
The construction of a new township hall has been a point of contention for township officials and residents since the board began to seriously look into the possibility last July. While the majority of the board are in favor of a new hall, Rousseaux, who was newly elected in November, has been against it.
Both sides have cited cost as a reason for taking their respective stance on the issue. As a result, board members agreed at April's meeting to have a cost feasibility study done by a local accounting firm.
However, those results have still yet to be released. Rousseaux said the results will be discussed at a special board meeting set for 9 a.m. this Thursday.
Currently, the township has invested $11,500 into the purchase of a 1.5 acre parcel of land for the potential hall, located on the north side of the Port Austin Water and Sewer Plant on Hellems Road. The township has $76,000 in savings it could put toward the building.
The board has received a bid of $216,861 from Booms Construction for the 2,240 square foot hall. The project is estimated to take about six months from start to finish.
However, other cost estimates have been circulating, including a cost of $255,000 with everything added in, including contingencies, painting and engineering services. An original estimate by Stiverson and Associates came in at $312,000, while Rousseaux has discussed his estimate of $455,738, which includes interest accrued and excludes the $76,000 the township has set aside to put toward the project.
Schillinger has offered the township a lease extension for six months at $1,100 per month, while the township goes through the process of determining whether a new building will be constructed. The offer is $100 less than what the township is currently paying.
Whatever the results, Rousseaux said he is pleased with the amount of voters that came out to make their voice heard on Tuesday.
"I think it shows that the community is engaged and they take their civic responsibility seriously," he said. "I think the community is starting to rise up to do whatever's best for Port Austin Township, and I'm so pleased to see that there was this kind of turnout."
