SPARTA, Mich. — Village officials are preparing to relocate their offices from a historic downtown location where they have operated for decades to a new $4 million facility being constructed next to the police station.
The current Sparta Village Hall consists of two buildings: the Peoples State Bank Building, built in the late 1800s, and the F.D. Kellogg Building, built in 1913. The village has sold both structures to local buyers.
"We've outgrown this space, and the village is spread out across multiple buildings around the village, and we wanted to consolidate into one campus for better efficiency, for serving the public, and for our staff," said Jim Lower, Sparta Village Manager.
The village sold the former bank building to local businessman Chad Momber for $200,000 and the other building to Downtown Trinni's and Margarita Joe's restaurant for $100,000.
Joe Paiz, co-owner of Downtown Trinni's and Margarita Joe's, said the restaurant has been looking to expand for years.
"We haven't been able to grow the kitchen at all; it's still four foot by 10 foot. And we service 22 to 2,500 guests a week now, this will allow us to expand that kitchen and hopefully run more efficiently," Paiz said.
Workers were busy on Thursday finishing construction on the new village hall. When completed, all village offices will be consolidated in one location, including new council chambers.
"The village has never had an actual meeting place before, where we have a permanent space for us to gather and transact our business, and a reliable space for the public to come and interact with us," Lower said.
The project will not raise taxes and is being funded through village funds that include proceeds from the sale of the old buildings and a low-interest bond.
"We got a very low-interest loan on it, because the village's financial situation is so stable. So we had a great bond rating, and we're able to keep the cost as low as possible," Lower said.
The new facility also includes a public works barn, replacing a 100-year-old garage that needed more than $1 million in repairs to bring it up to code.
"The garage was 100 years old, and it needed over a million dollars worth of work to bring it up to code. So, we've started fresh here at this garage. It's bigger too, because the old garage was too small and had a lot of limitations," Lower said.
Lower said the new hall will better serve current residents and meet future needs.
"We'll have a one-stop shop for people to interact with their village government, and more modern, we're going to be able to hear better in the council chambers. We're going to be able to record those meetings and have them online, and really, everything about their interaction with the village will be brought up to date and up to what I think people's standards are," Lower said.
The village plans to move into the new building by the end of the year, with the new owners taking possession of the old village hall soon after.
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