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Town Hall debate heads for resolution
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - March 21, 2012)
Town Hall debate heads for resolution
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
Munson Township Trustees are prepared to make their pick this week between two plans for expanding and renovating the Town Hall.
They met in a special session last week to go over preliminary plans for the expansion, which would more than double the space at the Town Hall on Auburn Road.
Trustees had considered a vote last week but decided to wait another few days for Trustee Andrew Bushman to review the latest changes to the plans. He said he received the latest revisions only two hours before the meeting.
The board is considering two plans which are relatively the same in terms of providing additional space. The difference lies in how the township offices and community room are positioned in the building.
One plan positions offices to the south, with views of ball fields there, and the community room to the north. The other one reverses those positions, with the offices to the north and the community room to the south.
Trustees Irene McMullen and Todd Ray, as well as several township employees, have expressed their preference for the first plan. Mr. Bushman has said he favors the second plan, because it offers residents a better community room with access to the playground and ball fields.
Architect Henry Penttila, who was hired last year to oversee the project, said cost will not be a factor with either plan. "These two plans should cost about exactly the same," he said.
The first plan adds about 4,718 square feet to the existing 3,763-square-foot building. The second plan adds about 4,714 square feet.
Under the first plan, the building would be expanded to the west and south, with the community room facing Auburn Road.
The other plan would expand the building to the east and south with the expanded community room facing existing ball fields. It places the building 20 feet closer to Auburn Road.
Outgoing township Fiscal Officer Patricia Bayer said she favors the first plan, because township offices would be further from the traffic on Auburn Road. She said township employees are at the building every day, as opposed to the public, which only rents the community room on occasion. "The employees are here all day long," she said.
Mr. Penttila said he would make use of "rain gardens" to control storm-water runoff and would prefer to avoid using detention ponds.
Joseph Rosboril, who chairs the township's park and recreation committee, said he favors the expansion to the east and south, because it offers more to the residents.
He also questioned whether access should be eliminated from Auburn Road. Current plans show the main access off Sherman Road, although two alternate accesses to Auburn Road are shown on a preliminary site plan.
Mr. Rosboril said he has concerns that most residents recognize the Town Hall from Auburn Road and that they should continue to have access there. He said statistics show that more accidents occur at Sherman and Auburn roads than at the Town Hall site north of the intersection.
Munson Fire Chief Bernie Harchar said, while that may be the case now, the Geauga County Engineer's Office is planning a realignment of the intersection this year, which will make it much safer. He said many of the accidents can be attributed to driver error. "It all comes down to common sense," he said. "It's a matter of how people drive."
Mr. Penttila said it would be less safe to continue Town Hall access off Auburn Road because of the high-speed traffic. He said motorists now turning in to the Town Hall have a wide paved area to accommodate all angles. He said a redesigned access would create a single drive, forcing motorists to slow down more to make a right-angle turn, which could cause more accidents.
Mr. Bushman said he has concerns that having only one entry off Sherman Road could create problems if an accident occurs that blocks the access.
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