Oxford Township officials last week voted 5-1 to spend a total amount not to exceed $23,300 on improvements to their meeting room upstairs at the Oxford Veterans Memorial Civic Center.
The purchase of a new desk unit with drawers and locks (not to exceed $12,000), audio system (not to exceed $6,205) and projection system (not to exceed $5,095) was approved by the township board.
The desk unit, at which officials will sit and work at during meetings, will consist of five curved sections that fit together to form an ellipse. They will have the ability to be taken apart and reassembled at another location in the event the meeting place is ever moved.
The individual sections will each seat three persons, with a total seating for 15 people.
As for the audio system, it will consist of 16 gooseneck microphones with connectors and shockmounts, 120-watt power amplifier with autowatch transformer and DBX dual graphic equalizer.
A Hitachi XGA-style 2200 ansilumen brightness projector with mounting system, motorized projection screen and DVD/VCR with video outputs make up the projection system.
The projector will be permanently mounted to the ceiling and the motorized screen fixed to the wall. In addition to displaying DVDs and video cassettes, the projector will also be able to accept signals from computers for power-point presentations.
Trustee Shirley Clancy cast the lone vote against the new equipment and improvements citing her concerns over imminent revenue sharing cuts from the state, the amounts of which are unknown at this time.
Given the impending cuts, Clancy reasoned this is not the time to spend so much money on something that’s “not necessary” right now. She urged the board to delay the purchases until the complete financial situation is known.