Senior office assistant Mary Matis and Chief Gary Garman work in the administrative office of the police department in the new Butler Township Municipal Building. The department features four work stations for officers, an enlarged evidence room and three holding cells with beds and lavatories.

This is one in a series of stories about economic development in Butler County this decade.BUTLER TWP — The $4.9 million township municipal building, built two years ago, has something its 40-year-old predecessor didn't: Space.At 16,400 square feet, the new building dwarfs the former 8,000-square-foot building.That is ample room for the administrative, zoning, police and fire departments that call it home."Just because of the room everybody loves it," said Gerald Patterson Jr., township manager.Nowhere was this space more needed than in the police department, which had been making its home in the basement of the former facility.Police Chief Gary Garman said boxes of records, many of which must be kept for some time, lined the walls in the previous office."I couldn't even use my closet for coats. I had it stuffed with files," said Garman.The situation had become intolerable. The police were out of room, said Garman.They were supposed to be in the basement just for five years, but it had been 10 years, he said."A lot of people weren't aware of it, but I'm happy the commissioners finally had the foresight for the new building," said Garman.Township commissioner president Joseph Hasychak said the new building addressed these concerns, and also planned for expansion."It wasn't built for today," said Hasychak. "If the township continues to grow, we will have a facility that remains functional and usable."

The building has empty offices that can later be filled by staff.It has four work stations in the police department for the 21 full-time officers, complete with computer, printer, and fax, when previously there were almost none."Before it was like take a number," said Garman, on the difficulty in sharing the machines "Now at least one is usually open."In the police section, there are now three full-size holding cells with a bed and a lavatory. They replace the closet-sized cells that before had only a chair bolted to the ground, said Garman.The evidence room has also been enlarged, he said."We won't have any problems in the near future," said Garman of the available space.In the new building, the meeting room holds 100 people, compared to room for 20 in the old building.There are also three large conference rooms now as opposed to the one that existed in the old facility.The township building was moved from its location in Lyndora, which had "massive congestion," to its quieter, more centralized location at 290 S. Duffy Rd.Hasychak said traffic sometimes used to be so bad that police officers couldn't get out and make their calls on a timely basis.The new location has two access roads, making it easier for the police, as well as for the visiting public.Hasychak said planning for the project began 10 years ago. At $4.9 million, it cost only slightly less than this year's $5.2 million total township budget.Money for the building came from a $2 million donation from the Water and Sewage Authority, which sold off its assets. The remainder was paid for through a bond taken out by the township.The former building was sold for about $200,000, said Hasychak. It currently houses an office of state Rep. Brian Ellis, R-11th, and a computer store.

The $4.9 million Butler Township Municipal Building, which opened two years ago, provides more than twice the space as the former township building in Lyndora. The new building offers three conference rooms, a meeting room capable of accommodating 100 people, and enough office space to allow for growth. The building also significantly increases the space available to the police department.