Brevort Township voters will decide May 4 whether to renew 1.0 mill for the community center, 1.9 mills for the fire department, and 2.9 mills for roads. The requests are presented as three separate ballot proposals.

To replace the community center at 4020 North Church Street in Moran, residents are being asked to approve splitting the millage used to maintain the community center, using half of it to build a new facility. That half of the millage will be used to pay for a $250,000 bond, at 4.25% interest, from the United States Department of Agriculture Building America Program, even though ballot language specifies “bonds up to $300,000. A grant for $105,000 will supplement the bond.

“The main thing residents should know is there will be no new taxes,” said Brevort Township Supervisor Ed Serwach. “Whatever they've been paying in millage is what they will continue to pay.”

Half the community center millage will continue to fund building maintenance and the other half will be used to pay off the bond. Unless township residents agree to split the millage, Mr. Serwach said, the Building America grant and bond will be denied. The township must show how it will repay the bond for it to receive the money. Ballot language asking for up to $300,000 was submitted before the township learned the $250,000 bond would be sufficient, Mr. Serwach said.

One mill is assessed at $1 for every $1,000 of taxable value on property. The one mill for the community center will raise $29,832 in its first year, Mr. Serwach said. When split, $14,916 will pay for the operation of the community center and the same amount will pay back the debt. Now that the fire department has its own building, Mr. Serwach believes the split millage will be enough to maintain the old community center until the new one is built.

The split millage will be for five years, however, if the 0.5 mill for the bond is approved, it will remain active until the entire bond has been paid off. The other half of the millage, 0.5 for maintenance, will expire in five years.

If approved by voters, the new community center will be a single floor, 2,800-square-foot building across the street from Immaculate Conception Church in Moran. It will contain office space, a break room, bathrooms, and a meeting room. Making the building simple and keeping construction costs between $300,000 and $350,000 is the goal, Mr. Serwach said. A ballot request to build a new center for $450,000 was defeated in August 2006.

Dreams of a new building have been spurred by the current community center's rough shape. Little insulation, water leaks, and equipment failures plague the current building, constructed in 1930 and used as a school until 1980. It is not handicap accessible, either.

“That isn't fair to the people and it doesn't follow federal law,” Mr. Serwach said.

The benefit of building a new community center is that it will be much cheaper to maintain and heat, he contends.

“The financing [of the bond] is so attractive, I believe it will be much cheaper to operate the building, including the payment, than what we already have,” Mr. Serwach said. “The other one is in deplorable condition and is very expensive to operate.”

The old building costs about $19,000 a year to operate.

Additional revenue for the township could be generated by renting the meeting room for functions like birthdays, he added. The current building is not rented to the community because of its problems.

Once the new building is constructed, the old one will remain on Church Street until the township raises enough money to demolish it. Demolition will cost about $40,000, which could be covered by a grant the township would pursue in about a year.

Fire and Road Millages

Road and fire department millage renewals will also be on the ballot. The township will ask for 2.9 mills for roads, raising $89,504.59 in its first year, and 1.9 mills for the fire department, raising $59,668.14 in its first year. Each millage will be assessed for five years, if passed.

The funding is used for road construction and maintenance . No major road projects are planned this year, Mr. Serwach said, although routine maintenance will be conducted.

Fire department funding is used to operate the department, pay for training, and purchase equipment.