Restoration starting soon on Bath Town Hall

by Wendy Turrell

Restoration of the historic Bath Town Hall is scheduled to begin at the end of August, according to Bath Service Director Caine Collins. Although seven companies attended the pre-bid project meeting, Collins said only Metis Construction Services submitted a bid. After Collins reviewed the bid with Bath Township Fiscal Officer Sharon Troike, it was submitted to the Bath Township trustees, who approved it at their meeting on June 21.

Collins said, “The bid was thorough and complete, and Metis Construction Services has considerable experience with this type of project.” The bid of $288,259 includes both the base project and the addition of exterior electric and lighting.

Architect Curtis Smock, from Four Points Architectural Services, Inc., has design and oversight responsibility for the Town Hall restoration. Smock explained, “The main reason for restoring the historic Town Hall was for preservation and maintenance purposes. The existing building envelope was compromised, and weather damage to the interior could occur in the near future.”

According to the Bath Township website, the original town hall was a frame building built during 1904-1905, financed by a four-year bond issue at 5% interest for the grand sum of $2,800. Smock’s job was not made easy by the lack of preserved documents about the construction. He stated, “The only historic records that we had were an existing photograph of the building taken after [its] completion [circa 1905].”

The Town Hall repairs will include replacing some of the siding, repainting, rebuilding window trim and replacing the Palladian-style window in the front of the building. In order to bring the Town Hall up to current building code, Smock said the front stoop will be rebuilt, and the rear entry railing system will be replaced. He added, “An alternate system of LED building floodlighting was proposed to enhance the night-time character of the building and improve visibility and security of the facility.”

Collins will act as project manager of the Town Hall Restoration. In this capacity he will conduct meetings, periodic job-site inspections, and provide final review and authorization of submittals, invoices and change orders. He will work closely with Smock who, Collins said, “Will assist me in providing quality assurance, quality control inspections, initial review of invoices and assist with resolving technical issues as they arise during the project.”

The original character and appearance of the building will be preserved in its original framework by replacing the siding only where repairs are needed and matching the original materials as closely as possible, according to Collins.

Collins added, “Other than my role as project manager, the Bath Township Service Department will not be working directly with Metis Construction.” He attended a pre-construction meeting with Metis Construction on July 6 and reported that the reconstruction is on track to begin at the end of August, with no changes or additions to the project expected.

Once the project is underway, Collins anticipates it will take about 60 days to complete. While work is being done, the Town Hall will be closed to the public. The Bath Center Cemetery, which is located directly behind the Bath Town Hall, will also be closed to vehicle traffic for the duration of the project. ∞