A groundbreaking ceremony for a new Lake Township administration building is scheduled for Oct. 15 at 10 a.m.

The township trustees have approved contracts for hiring an architectural/engineering firm and a general contractor for the construction of a new facility to replace the building destroyed by the June 5 tornado.

The trustees last week agreed to retain Normand and Associates, Inc., Perrysburg, as the architect for the building at a cost of $105,000.  Rudolph Libbe, Inc., Walbridge, was retained as the general contractor for $1.7 million.

The building will be slightly larger than the former building, which housed the police department and dispatching center, trustees’ offices, emergency medical service personnel living quarters, and the offices of the zoning inspector and fiscal officer.

The new building will be constructed at the same location at 27975 Cummings Road but will be larger, covering 14,183 square feet plus a porch area of 720 square feet.

A completion date of May 15, 2011 is included in the resolution to hire Rudolph Libbe.

“I think the community is going to be pleased with our new structure,” said Mark Hummer, township administrator.

The area in the old building used by the trustees for meetings will become the garage for the emergency medical service vehicles in the new building and will be ringed by living quarters and office space for EMS personnel.

The new meeting room of the trustees will be at the western end of the building and will be about 60 percent larger than the old room and an adjacent galley-style kitchen will be nearly double the size of the former kitchen, Hummer said.

The dispatching center will remain at the former Ohio Highway Patrol building on Lemoyne Road where the trustees are temporarily housing the police department after the tornado.

A portion of the building, primarily around the police department offices, will be constructed with reinforced concrete to create a storm shelter, according to Hummer, who is also the township police chief.

Closing of rail crossing
The trustees plan to accept public comment on the proposed closing of a rail crossing between East Broadway and Tracy Road to traffic.

The management of CSX Corp. has indicated it would like to close Walbridge Road to traffic at the crossing.

Ken Gilsdorf, community affairs and safety representative for the company, told the trustees at their Sept. 7 meeting that CSX holds the deed to the land around the crossing and was considering vacating part of Walbridge Road and have it become privately owned by adjacent property owners.

Melanie Bowen, who chairs the board of trustees, said the company hasn’t officially notified the township of its plans for the crossing.

To date, the trustees have only received comment from the union representing CSX Corp. workers, which opposes the closing.

The trustees said they plan to set a portion of the agendas of their next three meetings for public comment on the proposed closing.

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