Colon village office moves to former doctor's office on St. Joseph Street
After operating for years in an undersized, double-wide trailer, Colon’s village office is under a new roof.
Starting Wednesday, municipal services were being conducted from a former doctor’s office at 111 St. Joseph St., across the street from Abbott’s Magic. The relocation provides a quantity of space that could be considered an "embarrassment of riches."
Village president Sharon Craun said the inferior state of the previous village office was no secret. Its woeful condition, numerous shortcomings and lack of space are well documented. In fact, the matter was discussed in great depth by council members in the fall 2018, but the issue stalled.
In November 2021, the village began talks with the owner of what had been a medical office, vacated since earlier in 2021. The village agreed to a purchase price of $180,000.
“We just felt it was time … we decided that we can’t continue to put money into a building that’s not worth it,” Craun said. “The auditor did indicate we were in good shape, so we decided it was time to make that move and this building became available. It was a perfect opportunity.”
A number of plusses make the new location ideal, Craun said. It's still within walking distance from Colon’s downtown district, is in sound condition, parking space is adequate and, as she and village staff said countless times, it offers an ample amount of space. Its basement area alone has more square footage than the previous facility. A portion of the basement will be used to house police department evidence that must be kept indefinitely.
The upper level features a reception desk, a lobby and eight rooms previously used as examination areas. Some of the rooms will be used for offices – one designated for Department of Public Works, for example.
Consideration is being given to whether a series of walls separating the former examination rooms on the east half of the building should be removed to create a large area for meeting space. The other option is to keep the offices intact and use the lobby for a meeting space, despite what might be a tight fit.
“We’ll be doing some remodeling after we get a feel for the place, after the office staff has been in there a while and is able to make some good suggestions and ideas,” Craun said.
In July, village staff and a group of volunteers began packing contents of the old facility. The one-block move has been done small loads at a time over the past three weeks. With the aid of DPW employees Matt Barrett, John Walls and Nate Martin, however, Tuesday was official moving day and the final day of operations from the old building.
Office manager Billi Farrand said phone and internet services were being activated in time for staff to begin working Wednesday from the new location.
She added a footnote: It could be a few weeks before everything is set up and in order the way it’s intended.
Under the circumstances, the village conducted its monthly council meeting Tuesday at the M-86 fire station. Craun is optimistic September’s village council meeting can take place at the new office.
Craun said the village eventually will seek bids for demolition and removal of the old village office, which has been use since the mid-1970s.
This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Colon village offices move into St. Joseph Street location
