The Isabella County Board of Commissioners proposed a $13.7 million bond to fund a new project to renovate the county administration building. They presented the renovation design in an open discussion with the public on Aug. 26.

The commissioners walked the public through the design which featured the floor plan for the three floors. The building has stayed vacant since asbestos was discovered in October 2023. The reason commissioners held this session to encourage public transparency as the project moves forward.

County Administrator Brian Smith said that a bond is proposed to avoid a tax increase. A bond is a loan that is for construction and renovation projects that will be paid through county funds.

There is a current 45-day notice of referendum that ends Sept. 25. During this time, if 4,500 signatures are collected from registered voters opposing the bond, the renovation would have to go on a future ballot.

Currently the county is renting four building spaces for various departments. The cost of renting out space would exceed the bond cost within nine years if they do not renovate the county building, Smith said.

The commissioners said they have not been clear on communication, and the pre-renovation process has not been short.

“The process is taking long because we want to make sure we get the plans done right,” Smith said.

Community members raised concerns and urged for commissioners to do a public presentation at their Jan. 20 meeting, previously reported by Central Michigan Life. At this meeting, they agreed to do a public presentation after engineering design firm, Progressive Company, completed the design.

Smith said that the county did not want to move forward without a good plan that can be carried out, such as the next step in the process, which is the bond approval.

There is not an estimated time for the project completion.

County departments have been divided into four different buildings across Mount Pleasant since the asbestos discovery.

Smith said sometimes people will go back and forth between the clerk and registers of deeds offices, which creates the hassle of them traveling instead of having everyone in one building.

He said the county has also had a hard time with their departments in different places. It creates tougher communication, spreading resources over a larger area and not giving staff proper work environments.

The Parks and Recreation, Community Development and Facilities are in the 614 West Pickard building has inadequate heating. The Treasuerer and Register of Deeds are in the 510 West Pickard building, which is not compliant with the Americans Disability Act. The Clerk's office is at 207 Court St. building which has the I.T. servers in the basement.

The prosecution office is at an undisclosed location.

He said, if the county building does get renovated, different departments, such as the clerk’s office and administration, will be in the same building again. This will make communication for everyone better, Smith said.

Concept design for each floor of the administration building renovations provided by Isabella County:

The commissioners also plan for several enhancements for the building outside of the renovation, such as enhanced security for general safety and more handicapped parking.

Throughout the meeting, there were three public comments with questions for the commissioners.

“The one question I really want to know is all the asbestos gone or fully encapsulated, so we don't have this mess again?” Kim Fox, an Isabella County resident, asked.

There is some remaining asbestos in the boiler and some glass, but it is not flakey and is secured, Smith said. He said everything has been cleared out.

“The short answer is yes; it is gone or encapsulated,” Tobin Hope, District 7 Representative, said.

The bones of the building are good, the commissioners said. Everything will be gutted and new to avoid problems and fixing anything in the near future.

County Clerk Mindé Lux asked if and after the bond is approved, would local contractors be used for the construction and about future building updates.

Unless the price goes over 10% of the expected cost, then the county’s policy is to use local contractors, Smith said. He also said the commissioners will at least do updates at their regular meetings.

After the 2024 millage to fund county deputies was not passed and the deputies were laid off.

Jeff Tuma, Isabella County resident, said the commissioners previously talked about the county bringing deputies back and asked if there was still a plan.

Smith said that the board is looking to add multiple deputies next year. A decision on if the deputies come back will be decided when the board votes Sept. 15.

Hope said it isn’t going to be like it used to be, but they want to build the Sherriff's Department back up even if it takes years. The deputies will be supported through the county's general fund to make it sustainable and instead of a millage.

In regard of the administration building, Tuma said, “I hope it flies.”

A public hearing on the budget and the deputies is scheduled for Sept. 1 at 5 p.m.