While Russell Township Trustees signed an agreement in February to approve using the new community room for the May 6 primary election, the building may not be ready in time.
While Russell Township Trustees signed an agreement in February to approve using the new community room for the May 6 primary election, the building may not be ready in time.
As a backup plan, trustees also approved using the town hall for the election, but will soon have to make an official decision.
“We signed both because we’re hedging … and we need to let the board of elections know by the end of March … which facility we are going to choose,” Trustee Kristina Port said in a phone interview March 10.
The occupancy permit for the community room is dependent on having the alarm system in and tested, Fiscal Officer Karen Walder said at the Feb. 10 trustees meeting.
The township should also be able to get the center’s fire suppression system checked and approved in time, Port added.
“The only other problem is that the acoustics in that room, it just echoes so badly,” she said.
Thomas Ryan, an acoustic engineer from Technological Design Studios, of Maryland, is scheduled to fix the echoing problem, Port said.
“They’re going to come in and figure out what needs to get done with respect to baffling and and some mitigation of the sound,” she said.
At the meeting, trustees voted to allocate $3,000 to Strollo Architects for services through March 31. Previously, they allocated $10,000 to extend services in January and $3,000 in February.
Trustees said they would work on the rental agreement at the next meeting March 21.
They have to review some conditions, such as the security deposit cost and resident versus non-resident fees, they said, adding they decided to push back the start of the cleaning services from March 1 to April 1 and hold off on signing the substantial completion form, which signals the building’s completion.
