• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

Orfordville continues discussions with dealer for building

ORFORDVILLE — Burtness Chevrolet is considering building a new facility in Orfordville's business park, opening the door for a new library and municipal offices in the dealership's current downtown location, according to Monday's village board meeting minutes.

Brian Bowditch of Burtness told the board that he met with an architect from General Motors, and "his needs would best be served if he built a new facility out by the business park," according to the meeting minutes.

General Motors wants all Chevrolet dealer buildings to look the same, so Burtness has been exploring whether to remodel its business at 303 E. Beloit St., or sell the downtown facility and build new.

Burtness approached the village last year about buying the dealership's 9,000-square-foot facility. The village board discussed the issue but was awaiting more information from Burtness, village trustee Terry Morris said last month.

Morris said Tuesday the village board is "not even close" to a plan to buy and remodel the building.

At Monday's meeting, "the board just expressed that we were willing to work with them any way we could," he said. "That's the best we could do at this moment. No agreements were made."

One potential site the dealer is looking at would need to be annexed into the village, Morris said, and a tax increment financing district that covers the business park might need to be extended.

All village offices—including the police department, clerk's office and library—need more space, Morris previously told The Gazette. Storage and garage space also are issues, he said. The library board has been raising money to build a new library on its property at 115 N. Center St.

Village board member Beth Schmidt said library board members had some environmental concerns before they would be on board with a plan for sharing a building with the village hall, according to the minutes.