By John Tredrea, Special Writer
A major renovation of the township’s Municipal Services Building — estimated to cost $2.3 million — is being planned by officials.
Township Administrator/Engineer Paul Pogorzelski said the work, which would include replacement of the full exterior of the building, including the roof and all of the facade, could begin in mid-October.
Mr. Pogorzelski said the township already has the money needed to do the work, which means the job would have no tax impact.
This is because funds allocated over the years for various portions of the job, such as the new roof, have not been spent and are still in the township’s capital projects accounts, he said.
He added that, rather doing the work piecemeal as the money was allocated, it makes more sense to put the full renovation job out to bid and hire one firm to do everything in the most organized, efficient way possible.
Making a presentation at Monday night’s Township Committee meeting were members of the Media, Pennsylvania-based firm of Spiezle Architectural Group. Spiezle has studied the municipal building thoroughly and made recommendations Monday on how to correct problems with the building.
Many of those problems involve drainage. For example, the roof of the building, which is about 20 years old, has drip holes instead of gutters for rainwater. Some of the water that has gone through those drip holes has wound up in the building. Spiezle recommends installation of a gutter system in addition to replacing the roof of the building.
Spiezle also recommends work on the building’s foundation, for an estimated $32,000, including a new membrane around the foundation that would keep groundwater out of the building. The current membrane leaks, Spiezle said. The water that is leaking into the building in various ways is causing damage and is an ongoing problem.
Also recommended is making the facade of the building completely brick — some of it is stucco now — upgrading the elevator, replacing the building’s generator and replacing all the windows in the building with energy-efficient windows.
The new windows would reduce the energy costs of operating the building, Mr. Pogorzelski said.
Also recommended is installing access for the handicapped at the entrance to the Police Department, which is at the western end of the building.
Spiezle said the $2.3 million cost estimate could be lowered somewhat by economizing on various aspects of the project. The firm did recommend earmarking $100,000 toward correcting problems that haven’t been found yet, but may be found as work on the building proceeds.
