Buffalo Township vacates municipal, police building for renovations
BUFFALO TWP — For at least the next six months, Buffalo Township employees and police officers will be working out of construction trailers in the parking lot of the township’s municipal building on Bear Creek Road, as their normal workplace will be out of commission.
Earlier this month, construction crews began work on an extensive renovation project for the interior of the building, which houses both the township’s administrative offices and its police department. According to township manager Rich Hill, the project is expected to last at least six months.
For now, aside from the construction crew, the only people still working in the building are part of the township’s road department, who work on the bottom floor. Even the Buffalo Township Police Department has vacated the building and, as of December, are working out of a trailer in the building’s parking lot.
“There’s two trailers. There’s an administration trailer, and there’s a police trailer. The police are already in theirs,” Hill said. “The contractor will have free rein of the building for six months.”
The renovation will lead to a major overhaul of the interior of the top floor, where the administrative and police department offices are located. Separate entrances will be created for both administrative staff and the police department.
“We’re separating the administration department from the police department,” Hill said. “We’re just gutting the inside and redoing it. You won’t even recognize it when you come in next time.”
Part of the reason for the renovation, according to Hill, is for safety considerations. Under the old layout, the police and administrative departments share the same floor, which could lead to tense situations for both sides.
“We have a side door, so any time the police need to bring a prisoner, or somebody in to question, they have to take them right through the building,” Hill said.
Until the renovation project is finished, all township meetings — starting with the board of supervisors meeting held Wednesday night, Dec. 10 — will be held at the nearby Municipal Authority of Buffalo Township building on South Pike Road.
According to Hill, the township is budgeting $1.8 million for the renovation project, $1.3 million of which is offset by grant funding. Hill says that the township intends to borrow money to cover the remainder of the budget.
