Sam Moraco, general contractor, points out a detail in the city hall renovation plan. Photo by Phil Custodio

BY PHIL CUSTODIO
Clarkston News Editor
Plans for an expanded and renovated city hall continue, but Clarkston City Council declined, Monday, to approve a resolution to set a budget for it.
“Let’s get the whole package together so we can figure it out,” said Council member Al Avery at the March 25 City Council meeting.
City Manager Jonathan Smith requested a motion from City Council to approve moving forward with the city hall project at a not-to-exceed cost, with account numbers and financing details to be announced at a later meeting.
“We’re still feeling comfortable we could easily do this for $300,000,” Smith said.
Council member David Marsh said City Council needs to know where the money will come from before approving the project’s budget.
“In order to spend money, we have to approve where the money is coming from – hopefully we’ll have that in two weeks,” Marsh said.
The plan adds a two-bay garage for the Department of Public Works, increasing the garage from two to three bays, with additional workshop and office for the DPW supervisor. Recent revisions to the plan include a back door in the supervisor’s office.
An existing garage bay would be converted into a meeting room, about twice the size of the existing meeting space with windows in the back and its own furnace. The project also includes a new entrance hallway with improved security and access to a unisex, ADA compliant restroom open at all times to the public, as well as new roof, back wall, siding, and paint.
A new parking lot added to the south of city hall would be in a later phase of the project, not included in the $300,000 cost, Smith said.
“The building work is phase zero,” he said.
Phase one would include work on the driveway and sidewalk in front of the building. Phase two would be the parking lot, he said.
Smith and Sam Moraco, general contractor for the project, will present the plan with final financing details at the April 8 meeting.