Addison Township’s new hall will be 10,980 square feet. That’s what the board approved in a 5-2 vote at a recent meeting.
Trustees Ed Brakefield and John Boehmer voted against it.
Prior to talking about square-footage, David Gassen, project manager for Partners in Architect, wanted to clear the air.
‘I would like to apologize for the last meeting because it felt like at the end of it I was wasting your time,? Gassen said. ‘We spent a great amount of time going through the plans and when we got to the cost it was a little bit of a hiccup.?
Through a lot of work and effort between Partners in Architect and Construction Managers Frank Rewold & Sons, Gassen, was able to present the board with a locked price of $156.75 per square-foot on the new township hall, a number that was up for debate at the prior meeting.
Gassen told officials he arrived at a plan with 10,980 square feet after looking through previous plans and drawing upon comments given by the board over the past several meetings. The 10,980 square-feet is 780 square-feet more than the original estimated 10,200.
According to Gassen, the extra 780 square-feet allows for a conference room, expanded space for work spaces and expanded use of the Senior Center.
Brakefield didn’t like it because he felt it violated the contract that was already signed.
‘I think we should talk dollars and cents because ($156.75 per square-foot times 10,980 total square-feet is $1,721,115) which is $122,196 more than the contract, Brakefield said. ‘Our contract was for $1,598,919 (at) 10,200 square-feet. (That’s an extra) $122,196 out of our taxpayer’s money, that’s a lot of money when you say it like that. It’s easy to say it’s only 780 square feet more.?
‘I thought, and maybe I heard wrong, but things that make it 10,980 are the things that I thought the board were thinking were important,? Gassen replied. ‘I didn’t say, ‘Yes, do it.? I got the idea that you were interested in those aspects of the plan.?
Brakefield asked township attorney Bob Davis if they needed to revisit the contract. Davis didn’t believe so.
‘No, if you look at paragraph 9 (of the contract) I think we covered this, because we knew this square-footage issue was going to be an issue,? he said. (The contract states) ‘The project shall have a cost of work not to exceed $156.75 (per square foot) of building space.? Thus the cost of work is dependent on the approved square-footage and I think tonight’s meeting is about locking into the size of this project. It’s not about the carpet yet or extras of any kind. It’s about where do you want to be on size.?
Treasurer Lori Fisher pointed out every time Gassen brought forth a plan that was closer to the 10,200 to 10,300 range that they agreed ‘it wasn’t enough space to grow into.?
While Trustee Linda Gierak agreed the budget is a big concern, she felt adding the extra square-footage made sense.
‘It seems like the smart thing to do is to add that extra square-footage based on everything we’ve heard today and the last meeting,? she said. ‘It doesn’t make sense to short ourselves after doing all this.?
‘I agree, it doesn’t make sense to put a new building in that’s too small before we ever get started,? added Supervisor Bruce Pearson ‘It’s like if you have six kids, you don’t buy a four seated car, you buy a station wagon.?
Pearson noted when they originally put down 10,200 square-feet as a target, they didn’t know for sure if it would meet their needs. ‘We guessed that it would,? he said. ‘This (10,980) has room to expand and the other one doesn’t.?
Brakefield said he was just worried about spending too much money. ‘It sounds like this board is going to have to approve spending more money,? he said. ‘I’m just trying to avoid spending a lot of money.?
Trustee Erich Senft didn’t think they were ‘spinning out of control.?
‘We’ve had some good discussions. We have laid our cards on the table. We know where we are coming from ? both sides,? he said. I think we identified two major things. Lori mentioned about the storage, that increased the size a little bit and the senior room being an all-purpose room for the down the road in the future and for the good of the township. So that drove the size up based on that.?
‘To function in a progressive way (you can’t) look at what next year is going look like, but what is the next 20 years going to look like,? Gassen said.
Clerk Pauline Bennett said she was ‘good going with the 10,980 (square-feet)? based on the motion on June 23 in which they hired Partners in Architect for the job, based upon their original proposal of a 11,100 square-foot building at a cost of $1.7 million.
‘We’re in between that target (of 10,200 and 11,100 square-feet) so I think whatever the board wants to do we’re okay in doing.?
While Boehmer was in favor of the 10,980 square-feet he could not support the motion, ‘because of the lack of detail? that was given.
‘I know at the last meeting it was asked more than once to talk in better detail about the material of finish and construction and we don’t have that tonight,? he said. ‘As much as I like (the) 10,980-square-foot (plan), but with the motion being made, I’m going have to object to it from that standpoint. I hope the building moves forward, but tonight I’m disappointed and I’m expressing my disappointment in what has been brought back to us.?
Gassen said they have looked at a variety of layouts, but they haven’t looked at a lot of exterior expressions because they haven’t changed a lot. ‘And they don’t change as wildly as the plan does. The nuances of a plan are the guts of a project,? he said. ‘The exterior expression can flow with any different plan.?
Gassen said they would talk more details of materials, interior and exterior when they met with the board at the Feb. 9 meeting.
Pearson asked Davis if it ‘all can be scrapped if none of it works out??
‘You could change it, alter it, scrap it, say, ‘We don’t like it,?? Davis replied.