Maple Lake Township opens new town hall

The meeting of the Maple Lake Township Board of Supervisors on Nov. 20 marked the first use of the new township hall.

The town hall project began over 18 months ago when the township was informed its town hall did not meet federal and state requirements for a polling place. The 2002 Help America Vote Act, a program to help assure access for individuals with disabilities, required the township polling space to be handicap accessible. In addition, the existing facility was short on office space, requiring township Clerk Dick Hogan to do all township business and record-keeping at his home on a personal computer.

And finally, the 40-year-old facility at the corner of Bishop Avenue and Cty. Rd. 37 lacked shop space for storing and maintaining township equipment. The garage had equipment parked bumper-to-bumper with no room available for maintenance work.

The new facility, built next to the old town hall, includes a 40×60-foot meeting room with a kitchen area, handicapped accessible restrooms, office space and a 132×60 maintenance facility that includes a 60×36 cold storage area. For the moment, the old 40×80 town hall will also be used for additional storage.

The new town hall was financed with $400,000 in general obligation Capital Improvement Plan bonds, to be repaid over a 10-year period. Total principal and interest payments over the life of the bond are estimated to be $505,111.11 and the annual debt service payments are estimated to range from a high of $58,000 to a low of $42,000.

More information appears in this weeks issue of the Messenger.

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