Falls Township Municipal Building Renovations Slated For Spring

FALLS TOWNSHIP, PA —The township is gearing up for the start of its municipal building renovations this spring.

The Falls Township Board of Supervisors unanimously voted Monday to authorize advertising bids for upgrades to the existing 60,000-square-foot municipal building. Construction is tentatively slated to begin this spring and continue for about a year.

While work is underway, administrative staff and the police department will relocate to 450 Lincoln Highway, Suite 225 in Fairless Hills.

Beginning May 1 and continuing to April 30, 2024, Falls Township will occupy 12,482 square feet of the first floor and roughly 10,833 square feet of the second floor of the social security administration office at 430-450 Lincoln Highway.

If necessary, the township will continue leasing the space on a month-to-month basis, officials said.

For the most part, the temporary relocation is for “any of our services that residents walk into and need to see an administrator,” Supervisors Vice Chairman Jeff Boraski said.

With the impending renovations, supervisors authorized advertising an amendment to its existing responsible contractor ordinance.

Township attorney Mike Clarke said the proposed change is meant to close a “loophole” following a legal challenge in another municipality.

If adopted, the change would require that the construction manager or lead contractor responsible for the project “shall ensure that at least 70 percent of the craft labor workforce shall be comprised of either journeyperson, workers who have successfully completed an apprenticeship training program registered with and approved by the U.S. Department of Labor or a state apprenticeship agency or registered apprentices currently enrolled in such programs.”

“This will close that loophole,” Clarke said. “You’re getting highly qualified and highly skilled people doing the work.”

Supervisors also voted 4-0 to approve an engagement letter with Concord Public Finance, the township’s financial advisor for the building upgrades. The board also passed a resolution authorizing the payment of expenses related to the municipal building project from funds currently on hand and for those expenses to be reimbursed via bond issuance.