By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com

Hamburg Township officials are fine tuning a new policy that would open up the senior and community center to additional uses.

Township Coordinator Deby Henneman and Senior Center Director Julie Eddings brought the proposed policy amendments to the Board of Trustees at their latest meeting. Henneman said they have gotten requests for baby showers, wedding showers and birthday parties, that currently aren’t allowed at the building.

In an effort to better serve the community, they have come up a plan to allow these types of events,though nothing has been approved or implemented yet. The Center would only be open for reservations from Hamburg Township residents, businesses, non-profits, and employees. A proposed fee of $35 per hour and a damage deposit of some sort, potentially just a credit card on file were also discussed. A discounted rate for township employees was proposed, but Supervisor Pat Hohl gave an opinion that they shouldn’t be treated differently, and that the $35 per hour rate is still reasonable. The township also discussed the possibility of having a Senior Center or other township representative on-site during rental events. The person would have access to otherwise locked-off areas of the building, and simply having their presence there might help encourage cleanliness and the putting-back of things how party-goers found them.

The Board asked that the Parks and Recreation Committee fine-tune the policy a little more at their next meeting and bring back the revised policy for consideration. The policy could be back before the Board at their first meeting in April.