Center Township seeking permanent home after decades of renting

Center Township Trustee Jesse Harper is planning to purchase a building for the new township office after decades of renting.

“As long as I’ve been trustee, which has been almost seven years now, and at least 34 years prior to that, Center Township has never had its own building,” he said.

It’s rare for a township that size not to have its own building, he said.

“I believe we can do this without a bond, without a loan. I believe we can do this with the reserves we have,” Harper said. He credited prior trustees with being fiscally responsible and fiscally conservative, setting aside funds to purchase a building outright.

“It’s really essential considering that Center Township continues to grow and see more and more clients every month,” he said.

“We have actually been looking for a building for years,” Harper said, but have been priced out in the past for buildings the size and location the township needs.

Because the township serves indigent clients, the township office should be along a V-Line route, as close to a stop as possible, he said. “We do have many clients that are unable to walk the distance between the V-Line drop-off and our office,” he said.

“We are looking currently at a building,” Harper said. For the township, buying a building isn’t as easy as for a private individual. State law requires the township to obtain several appraisals and take the average as the top amount the township can pay.

With other buildings the township has looked at, the owners didn’t agree with the township’s final offer.

The township currently leases a house at 202 Roosevelt Road. It’s small, at 927 square feet.

“Quite frankly, the landlord’s amazing. The location’s amazing. It’s just been a fantastic place to be,” Harper said, but the township needs more space.

Two years ago, the township hired a social worker. She needs more privacy than the current facilities allow while meeting with clients, Harper said.

“The employees recognize the need even more than I do,” Harper said. People entering during business hours “are shocked by how incredibly busy our office can be.” All staff can be tied up with interviews even as all the phone lines are ringing and several people are waiting their turn to meet with an employee, Harper said.

Private offices are an important need. When people come to the trustee’s office seeking help, they’re opening up their private lives to the caseworker during interviews in a busy office. Often, people are waiting their turn while all the phone lines are ringing at the same time.

Harper even gave up his own office to make room for the social worker, he said.

During his time in office, Harper has expanded the scope of work, too, including lessons on budgeting, finding affordable child care and healthy cooking within a budget, among other things. Ideally, the new building will have room for a kitchen as well as a meeting room.

That meeting space is important because it can take a month or two to reserve space elsewhere to hold community meetings, Harper said. With its own meeting room, the township will be able to schedule classes and other meetings on a more timely basis.

To accommodate current needs and future growth, Harper is looking for 2,700 to 3,500 square feet.

Erecting a building would be an option, but with President Donald Trump’s tariffs in place, Harper doesn’t see construction materials coming down in price for at least another three to five years.

Adding urgency to the township’s push to find a new home is a new state law that requires townships to file capital improvement project plans with the state and show the State Board of Accounts how the money already saved up will be spent. If not, the state can take 30% of the money to use for roads and bridges, Harper said.

“It’s a really poorly written piece of legislation, in my opinion,” he said. Money paid by Center Township taxpayers could be spent elsewhere under this law’s provisions.

If the location Harper has in mind can’t be purchased, he’s not giving up. “We’re keeping all of our options on the table.”

“I would really like a new place that we can grow into,” he said.

Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.