Bedford Township employees still sorting new site's loose ends
10/11/2007Supervisor Walt Wilburn climbed the staircase in Bedford Township's new Government Center and headed toward a giant circular window on the second floor.
"I like this view," he said, surveying the ruins of the former township hall below him. "Right there was the board room. And at the side of that wall, there was my office - which is gone."
All that was left of the one-story structure late last week was a roofless shell, its center filled with jumbles of twisted metal beams, cement blocks, and torn ceiling boards. A backhoe loomed like a predator guarding half-eaten prey.
Built behind the old hall on Jackman Road, the township's new $3 million headquarters has been open since Oct. 1, about a year after groundbreaking.
Township employees spent the final days of September hauling their belongings and office equipment from the old building to the new, which at 9,300 square feet is about double the former hall's size.
"I do believe that we worked up a sweat," said Barbara Martin, administrative assistant in the building department.
To pay for the building, the township used $1 million from its general fund and issued $2 million in bonds to be paid off over two decades.
"This building here should serve the community for the next 60 to 70 years," Mr. Wilburn said.
Yet as with many new buildings, there are some loose ends.
For instance, sheriff deputies have yet to move into the building's substation, which should be ready "in a couple weeks," according to Mr. Wilburn.
The drive-up window for utility bills has been undergoing last-minute work.
Portions of the brown checkerboard floor tile on the second floor do not match and must be replaced because of a contractor's error, Mr. Wilburn said.
And then there is the issue of the supervisor's office door.
Last week, it featured a hole big enough to walk through.
Mr. Wilburn said the hole will eventually be filled by a sheet of glass that is on order.
Even though the room came with a perfectly good door of solid wood, Mr. Wilburn said he sought more transparency for his office.
"I wanted people to see in here," he said. "Never had anything to hide - never will."
A public open house is tentatively set for Oct. 27.
Contact JC Reindl at:
jreindl@theblade.com
or 419-724-6050.