PHOTOS: Benzonia Township’s new township hall and fire department building is open for business. Township supervisor Jason Barnard said construction was completed in late August, and the first election was held in the meeting room on Nov. 4.
Other events at the new building have included a trunk-or-treat event at the fire station on Halloween and an open house on Oct. 24. The new government building includes a front desk, separate offices for township officials, a conference room and a large meeting room that can be divided into two spaces with a partition.
The fire station has five full bays and enough space to house the township’s entire fire department fleet. It also includes sleeping quarters, a kitchen, a command room and a break room.
Steve Adams, chief of the Benzonia Fire Department, said the previous building wasn’t large enough to hold all of the township’s fire equipment.
“It is a lot easier to get in and out,” Adams said. “We can work on the trucks and wash them where they’re at instead of having to move them. We have room to move around and don’t have to worry about hitting the other trucks or the building.”
Adams said the township has been discussing a hybrid approach to staffing the fire department due to an increased volume of calls, and the new building was designed with that in mind. Adams and Barnard said the fire station won’t be fully staffed at all times, but may have some full-time employees.
“This new building is going to help us expand some of our services,” Adams said. “It will give us the amenities we didn’t have at the old station. As we transition to 24-hour staffing, with the kitchen and bunk rooms, we’ll be able to provide those services.”
Barnard said having more space also allows township government to function more efficiently. “The township and fire department have always been one and one, and the fact that the fire department can function more efficiently means the same for the township,” he said.
Ground was broken on the $5.1 million building in March 2024. Funding for the project comes from a millage township voters approved in 2021 to repay a bond for construction. The original millage proposal was for 0.8605 mills to be levied for no more than 20 years.
After construction estimates came back at $6.6 million, the millage and project were put on hold until township officials revived the plan in 2023 after reducing costs. The former Benzonia Township Hall and fire department building is currently for sale, according to Barnard.
