LIME CITY – Perrysburg Township at its next meeting is expected to select a construction firm to build its new administration building.
Administrator Jon Eckel said at Wednesday’s meeting it was the culmination of several decades of studies dating back to 1998.
Five firms responded to the request for qualifications and three were reviewed, he said.
Independent engineering firms reviewed the proposals; four picked Rudolph Libbe as the first choice and one selected Miller Diversified, he said.
Eckel submitted a resolution to hire Rudolph Libbe, but trustees requested a three-week delay to review the documents.
The existing building at 26609 Lime City Road, where trustees meet and have offices, is aging and no longer suited to current needs. The existing structure, which is about 16,000 square feet, was built in 1962.
The new building will be 9,000 square feet and be located to the south of the existing structure. The single-story facility will include a meeting room, conference room, dispatch center, offices, kitchenette and restrooms.
Eckel said he was told the cost of construction is going up 7.8% every year, which translates to an additional $160,000 every year the township waits.
Firms are planning their construction schedules for 2024 and the longer we wait the more the project will cost, he said.
The estimated cost of the project is $3.7 million with completion in 2025. The township has $1.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds which have to be allocated this year.
All three firms confirmed they could do the project within the $3.7 million budget, Eckel said.
“I’m really anxious to get this project moving,” he said.
He said he found an estimate from 2005 that put the cost of remodeling the building at $2 million. In today’s dollars, that’s $3.2 million.
The existing township building has been updated over the years and will still get some use, he said.
Munger Munger + Associates Architects Inc. is doing the preliminary design of the building.
“The writing is on the wall for where we’re heading,” said Trustee Bob Mack.
As this will be the largest expenditure he has approved as a trustee, he requested to wait until the next meeting to vote on the resolution.
Trustee Gary Britten said the biggest question was the addition of a dispatch center. There have been conversations about going to a regional center, and he also requested a delay to try to get an answer to that issue.
“We’ve got to do something, and I think it’s time,” he said.
Trustees will review the project and take a vote at their June 5 meeting.
“I would hope that three weeks would not kill the project or adjust the price,” Mack said.
Eckel said he didn’t think waiting will make a difference in the proposal.
Also at the meeting, trustees:
• Hired Sarah Brever as finance director at an hourly salary of $32.70. Her start date is June 3.
“As we’ve grown as a township, our budget has grown more complicated,” Mack said.
• Learned Branden Abke was named firefighter of the year and Don Widmer was named police officer of the year.
• Learned volunteers picked up more than 1 ton of trash from township roadsides.
• Accepted the resignation of Kayla Laumann from the fire department. She has accepted a full-time job with the Bowling Green Fire Division.
• Heard police Chief Matt Gazarek report a traffic stop conducted with Rossford police resulted in the confiscation of Ecstasy and a 30-round magazine for a pistol. They searched the vehicle but were unable to find a weapon. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol provided an X-ray machine, which found a loaded handgun in the door panel. Both the driver and passenger were arrested on outstanding warrants and additional charges.
“Another gun off the street, another bad guy off the street,” Gazarek said.
• Learned there were 218 EMS calls and 25 fire calls in April. That is the second highest on record, Chief Tom Brice said about the 243 total. The police department conducted 195 traffic stops and handled 45 traffic crashes during the month.
• Renewed a subscription with Motorola Solutions Inc. for the police department’s body cameras for $15,780.
• Agreed to spend $1,126 to place an OSHA compliant first aid station in every department.
