Here's your chance to purchase an old township hall built in 1859

BETHEL TWP. — A “For Sale by Owner” sign will go up on the 1859 one-room former town hall, the Bethel Township board decided Monday night.

The board placed a $15,000 price on the wood building at 402 South Snow Prairie Road now that the new township hall is completed and open at 439 S. Snow Prairie Road.

After some legal research, Bethel Township found it owned the 60-by-100-foot lot and building leased to the township for 99 years when the old hall was built in 1859.

An heir to the original owner deeded the property to the township in 1959.

Treasurer Jim Webb suggested an adjoining landowner or the Amish might want the property. The Amish are looking to build a school in the area.

Webb said the small property “is a legal non-conforming” site that can still be used.

New survey markers showed how much the township used for parking beyond the property lines.

Webb questioned whether the lot was big enough for a septic system and well under health codes.

“We had a two-hole toilet there until it collapsed,” supervisor Larry LaMontagne said.

The township used portable toilets in recent years.

Trustee Robin Kehoe called them “clean but cold.” She said she was always afraid someone would tip the portable toilet over while she was inside.

Webb said the township used American Rescue Plan Act funds for the new hall, along with savings from prior budget years, to construct the new $350,000 building.

Bethel Township received $149,275 from the COVID-19 relief money.

“We could not have done it without those funds,” Webb stated.

Webb said the township purchased a one-acre lot for $13,000 and installed a well and septic system for the new location.

The 40-by-60-foot building contains a meeting room, three offices, storage, and two uni-sex bathrooms.

The Aug. 6 primary will be the first for the township to be in a hall with heating, air conditioning, and inside toilets.

Clerk Lori Brewer is in the process of moving her office from her home to the new hall.

The township purchased new tables and chairs for the board and the public. The board authorized spending up to $6,000 for office furniture.

— Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Here's your chance to purchase an old township hall built in 1859