Goodrich- Soon the village will be digging some new ‘digs.’
After more than a year of debate, the Village of Goodrich administration and Department of Public Works operations will be moving.
The United States Department of Agriculture has given village administrator, Jakki Sidge, authorization to seek bids on the new facilities effective Sept. 2, 2003. The site plan was approved by the Planning Commission on Feb. 24, then paperwork was sent by Sidge to Lansing, where the USDA’s architect approved the plan, giving them the go-ahead for the bid.
The new village offices will be a 2,400 square foot two-story structure located off M-15 on Huffsteader Road that will house village officials, provide a conference room, lounge room and other needs. The lower level may or may not be finished, depending on the cost of estimates.
The DPW building will be a separate 5,800 square foot building located behind the village offices.
Currently, the village rents office space in downtown Goodrich and the DPW rents out two other storage facilities to house their equipment.
“We really have outgrown both buildings. Once we open the old offices and DPW up, we will be able to provide additional services for the people and use the space for other things,” said Sidge.
“We’re pretty excited about this. We have been in the same building for more than 10 years, and we just don’t have the amount of storage we need anymore.”
Working with the USDA has enabled them to borrow $1.2 million without penalization of early repayment.
“We can’t afford to repay a $1.2 million loan, so we’ll have to make adjustments to the budget as time passes and we see what’s needed.”
The village purchased the land a year before from a local farmer zoned as office/service. The village has worked with both THA Architect firm in Flint and Wade-Trim Engineer in Flint on the project since they started.
Although the authorization for bids is effective Sept. 2, they cannot open the bidding until Sept.24. The council will hold a special meeting on Oct. 1 to award the bid. Sidge hopes to start the construction immediately after the meeting.