Nov 23, 2024 By Melissa Gibson 2 min read

Greene Township celebrated the official opening of the new municipal building with a ribbon cutting this week.

For many years, the department that maintains roads, clears roads throughout the winter and maintains township equipment for the community among other tasks had worked in the basement of an old schoolhouse.

“It was in quite poor condition. We looked into fixing it up and were given an estimate of $400,000 so engineers recommended we rebuild,” said Judith Hamlin, township secretary. “The old building was not ADA accessible and we had to climb rickety steps to get to the restroom. I’ve waded through water over my shoes at times.”

Those days are over as the township moved into the new building on the same parcel of land at 243 Garards Fort Road in Garards Fort last week.

Not only is it now ADA accessible and completely up to code, but the new site also creates a pleasant work atmosphere for staff and didn’t cost taxpayers a penny.

“The building was funded through a Local Share Account (LSA) grant, American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds and a small portion of Impact Fee funds. Some of this was money that had to be spent by the end of the year,” Hamlin said. “We were also awarded a second LSA grant of $128,000 for a new dump truck for the township. Without opportunities like these, a low tax base township like ours would not be able to make these kinds of improvements and purchases.”

As they celebrated with an official ribbon cutting, several dignitaries spoke to the crowd followed by an open house with tours, light food and community appreciation.

“The building is just wonderful. We’ve been in the office for a week-and-a-half and it’s been great. These guys work really hard and they’re out there working on the roads all the time. We’re overseeing the business end here in the office. It’s been very nice, and we’ve been fortunate,” Hamlin said.