Champion administrators, construction leads and others cut the ribbon on the new Champion Town Hall. (Journal photo by Antonio Anderson)

MARQUETTE – Residents of Champion Township celebrated the opening of the new Champion Town Hall Wednesday with a ribbon cutting, open house, speeches, food and refreshments. The new town hall is just a mile from the previous one and is located at 1071 U.S. 41, in Champion.

“It probably took about two years from start to finish,” said Mike Simula, the Champion Township supervisor. “From committing to do it, to financing, developing the plans, getting a contractor; so that was almost a year there. Then it took nearly a year for construction time which actually started late July early August. So we finished up with a month to go.”

More than 36 people attended the event from Champion residents to Champion Township administrators and even Marquette County commissioners. Simula thanked and acknowledged numerous people for their help on the project which included Champion Township administrators; the construction crew who worked on the project; the project architect; donors to the project; and much more. He even asked the lead contractor to say a few words.

“It was a challenging project,” said Ben Carlson, lead contractor of the enterprise. “Which we knew from the get go. But it was one we were willing and ready to take on … This project was different than just someone’s house, as the money comes from everyone in Champion. We wanted to take that seriously and that we could leave you with something that you could be proud of as a community. We hope everyone is happy with the way it turned out and that this will be a great building for many years to come.”

Antonio Anderson can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 550. His email address is aanderson@miningjournal.net.

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