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Budget drives plans for town-hall design
Budget drives plans for town-hall design
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
Munson Township Trustees began Monday to more clearly define what a new town hall may look like.
Trustees met with architects David Leber and Richard Brown, partners in Leber-Brown Architects in Cleveland, to begin determining space needs for meetings and township employees.
Trustees are to get a more detailed look at the town-hall project after architects prepare schematic drawings in the next two weeks. Along with the drawings, they are to get cost estimates for various aspects of the project.
Mr. Leber said the "budget will drive the project," limiting its size. Because of those limitations, he said, architects restricted the first floor to 4,500 square feet. The existing Town Hall is 3,400 square feet.
Trustees have said they plan to use inheritance taxes for the project, which now total around $853,000.
Mr. Brown said, if funds run short as the project proceeds, cuts will have to be made in the size of the building or in the quality of its finishes.
Mr. Leber said architects met with employees last week to determine what spaces may be needed for their operations. He said they looked at the need for computers, copiers and work surfaces and listened to general comments.
Mr. Brown said architects are looking at the working relationships of the various offices and what spaces may need to be located next to each other. He said flexibility in allowing spaces to be used for multiple purposes is being examined.
Among the possible features of the new building are a lobby, trustee office and caucus room, separate rooms for each employee, meeting room, janitorial room, small kitchen, mechanical room and rooms for filing documents, Mr. Brown said.
Mr. Leber said the township may be able to gain additional space through the construction of a lower level. That will only make economical sense if the topography of the land lends itself to that construction, he said.
Trustee Frank Gliha said he has spoken with township officials elsewhere who have expanded their offices. He said one of the most critical items needed in those expansions was storage space. He said that should be looked at carefully as trustees plan the project. He said the new meeting room should be about 1 1/2 times the size of the current meeting room.
Mr. Brown said the "green practices" that will be considered include a passive solar design to take advantage of the sun's movement through the seasons. In addition, he said, there may be ways through the use of berms and trees to direct winter winds over the building to reduce heating costs. He said architects may minimize lawn areas to reduce maintenance costs and provide more natural habitat for the area.
Trustee Todd Ray said he's concerned with the arrangement of parking for the new facility to avoid conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles, particularly because of the nearby ball fields.
Mr. Ray also asked architects to look at the existing large meeting room in Town Hall to see what improvements may be made there to allow for its continued use. He said it's hard to justify spending money to create a large meeting room in the new town hall, when such a space may only be used once or twice a year.
Trustee Andrew Bushman asked architects to look at revising plans for two office spaces planned for the fiscal and zoning officers. Instead of providing 256 and 288 square feet, respectively, he said, the same space could be divided into three offices of 180 square feet, allowing for future flexibility. He said the fiscal officer has a working space of 135 square feet, and the zoning inspector has about 180 square feet. Each would gain space, because filing cabinets now in their offices would be moved to separate filing rooms in the new building, he said.
Resident Eleanor Simenik asked whether the $850,000 slated for the project will be used solely for the building or whether it also will cover furnishings, a new water well, a septic system and other amenities.
Mr. Brown said different "pots" of money will be tracked for all the needed features of the new building, and those costs will be factored into the total project as it moves forward.
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