By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com

Renovations to help give the County Elections Division more space at the Historic Courthouse have been approved.

Livingston County Facilities Director Chris Folts and County Clerk Elizabeth Hundley recently brought the request to the Board of Commissioners. Due to the relocation of the Register of Deeds, there is workspace at the Historic Courthouse in downtown Howell that is currently not being used. Folts previously told the County’s General Government Committee that in facilities, the worst thing you can have is unoccupied space.

With a busy year of elections scheduled for 2022, Clerk Hundley said that this ground floor space could be valuable to the Elections Division. She said that right now they don’t have a place to hold their meetings without transporting materials up and down floors. Hundley continued, saying that having a conference space and space to do their statutory mandated duties would be beneficial.

At the Board of Commissioner’s last meeting, they approved going forward with the project at a cost not to exceed $110,299. The renovations will be paid for by the F403 Capital Improvement Fund. Commissioners voted 7-2 in favor, with Commissioners Jay Gross and Jay Drick voting against.