Mt. Pleasant sets $13.5 million village hall budget

Concept plan for Mt. Pleasant's new Municipal Campus;
village hall and police station are at upper left; recplex at bottom

In one respect, Mt. Pleasant's Trustees and Building Committee gave everyone exactly what they wanted Monday night. Their meeting to set a budget for the new village hall/police station complex ended about 7:15 p.m., plenty of time to get home before the Packers/Vikings kickoff.

But when it came to actually setting a budget, well, not everyone went home happy. There had been much talk about building costs -- how, for example, Norway built its municipal building for about $90 per square foot, and some trustees and members of the building committee thought that was a price target worth shooting for (and perhaps attainable in this economy). And yet, when push came to shove, a vote to set Mt. Pleasant's budget at $10.5 million failed 4-3. Instead, trustees voted by the same margin to set a budget of $13.5 million, for what is expected to be, roughly, a building of 65,000 sq. ft.

That works out to more than $200 per sq. ft.

For the record, the same three trustees who voted for the $10.5 million budget -- Harry Manning, Karen Albeck and Ken Flones -- were on the losing side of the $13.5 million vote.

There was no question at Monday's meeting which side the audience was on: austerity. Almost everyone who spoke -- as they did last week -- came out for living within the limits of the $10 million gift for a new village hall complex. Village administrator Mike Andreasen, however, preferred to talk about how the village is living well within its borrowing capacity, even if it borrows $2.5 million to build the new complex. And former trustee Mary Carrington said, "It boggles me" that some trustees are "reducing the cost so much."

Albeck remained unconvinced. "We need to live within our harvest," she said, arguing that the budget should be set at no more than $10.5 million. A complex three times as large as Norway's 20,000 sq. ft., built for the same square-foot cost, would come to just $5.8 million she said. "I believe it's very do-able." As for the size, she suggested that holding court more often would reduce the need for a large courtroom. The more the debate went on, she said, "the more confused I am that it's even an issue."

On the other side was Joe Clementi, who said the village received a $10 million estimate once before -- 15 years ago. "Cost have gone up; needs have gone up," he said, noting "Our Police Department is so overtaxed it could be a liability."

Harry Manning said part of the problem is "expectations," but he said of all the telephone calls he's received, "nobody's telling me to spend the $15 million."

In the end, the board tried to come at the issue from two directions. One group, led by Manning, tried to pass a $10.5 million budget, with the understanding Bray Associates Architects would present "options" for such additions as a police firing range. Another, led by Sonny Havn and John Hewitt, wanted a $13.5 million budget, with the architects instructed to look for ways to underspend that amount. And, of course, there was always the $15.5 million option offered last week, for a 75,000 sq. ft. facility -- "too high a price," said Havn. "We're all looking to make it less."

The $13.5 million version was the one the building committee passed on to the trustees, by a 5-0 vote.

The trustees first voted on Manning's motion: a $10.5 million budget for a 65,000 sq. ft. complex, with the understanding that the architects might offer as "options" room for dispatch and a police firing range, for the board to vote on later. "Better for the architects to have a lower number and then have them explain why it can't be met," said Albeck. That motion failed 4-3.

That brought up Hewitt's motion for a $13.5 million, 65,000 sq. ft. building. Manning pointed out its $200 per sq. ft. cost -- "That's one of the things that concerns me." -- and Hewitt said, "We'll leave that up to the professionals." The vote was 4-3 in favor -- voting in favor were Hewitt, Ingrid Tiegel, Carolyn Milkie and and Havn-- and the meeting was over at 7:15 p.m.

One issue left undecided last week was how to finance the Public Works Department, which some trustees felt should be included in the overall project -- or at least within its budget. The architects presented a conceptual site plan last night (above) that showed the Recreational building trustees hope to attract to the complex, planning to sell the necessary 25-30 acres for $1.5 million or so -- enough to finance a Public Works building when the time comes.