The Plymouth Township Municipal Complex Is Undergoing A Renovation Years In The Making

PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, PA — The municipal complex that houses township government offices and the police department headquarters is undergoing a renovation that was decades in the making.

Plymouth Township announced that workers are performing major upgrades at the government center, which include installing new roofs, replacing old windows, installing an environmentally friendly geothermal HVAC system, installing new electric service and lighting, putting in floor coverings, installing an elevator, remediating asbestos and adding a fresh coat of paint to walls and ceilings.

The government complex, which was first constructed back in 1971, houses township staff, police administration, and those working in zoning and code departments.

Public works officials operate out of a separate building that is also 50 years old and is also being renovated as part of this project.

The township says that the municipal complex also features the original boiler, HVAC and an electrical system "so antiquated that parts must be rebuilt," according to a news release.

"The building has become outdated and inefficient over the last 50 years," Plymouth Township Council Chairman Christopher Manero said in a statement.

Manero and his fellow elected officials began reviewing options for renovating the complex beginning back in 2018 in order to find the most cost-effective way to bring the building back to life, according to the news release.

The township looked at possibilities including undertaking required renovations, renovating the building with minimal additions, a full renovation with additions or constructing an entirely new building, but ultimately township council decided to go with the renovations option, since Manero said it would address "our basic needs and would enable the most improvement for the least cost."

According to the township, the renovation project, estimated to cost between $18 million to $20 million, would be funded with a small increase to the property tax and earned income tax paid by Plymouth residents and those working in the municipality.

The increase equated to an additional $18 per year in real estate taxes in 2022 for the owner of a home assessed at $180,000, while the township would generate an additional $50 per year in earned income tax by households earning $100,000 annually.

The township apparently had eyed the possibility of paying for the renovations through the sale of its sanitary sewer system, but there was a large outcry from residents and that idea was ultimately scrapped back in 2019.

If the sewer system was privatized, residents would have been looking at their quarterly bills being raised from $63 to $240, according to the township.

"While our optimal choice is always to never raise taxes, this year's budget presented us with a glaring need to do so as we look toward the future of the township," Manero said in his statement. "Our goal as a Council has always been and will be to keep taxes low while most importantly maintaining the premier services that our residents have come to know and love."

Construction on the project is expected to go until at least the summer of 2023.