 a new senate office building  is it office envy term limited senate majority leader randy richardville is pushing for the sale of the billie s farnum senate office building and the procurement of a new facility for michigan rsquo s 38 state senators according to wxyz abc news senate majority leader randy richardville is surprised the farnum building hasn rsquo t been condemned i think crap is a pretty good word for it he said richardville says the farnum just doesn rsquo t cut it anymore with problems ranging from outdated technology to lingering asbestos issues on a tour his office provided us it appeared more than adequate with spacious offices nice amenities and stateoftheart committee rooms i worked for the legislature in a nonpartisan capacity for 32 years with several of those years in the farnum building i never realized i was working in such a horrible place and just last year i had the occasion to be there for a public hearing and was impressed by the changes they had been made over the last ten years since the time i had an office there i wonder if senator richardville isn rsquo t just envious that the members of the upper chamber of the have been out done by the palatial digs of the house office building it would be interesting to know what level opulence he feels the senators deserve as ldquo public servants rdquo the senate has already passed the bill sb509 by a vote of 22 to 14 with 6 of richardville rsquo s fellow republicans voting against it the senators who voted for the bill are booher caswell colbeck emmons green gregory hansen hildenbrand jansen johnson kahn kowall marleau meekhof moolenaar nofs pappageorge pavlov richardville robertson smith walker the senators who voted against the bill are ananich anderson bieda casperson hopgood hune hunter jones proos rocca schuitmaker warren whitmer young with legislative approval and the governor rsquo s signature the law would give the senate permission to sell the farnum building freeing up cash to move into newer and more deserving digs richardville is currently working behind the scenes on soliciting bids from developers interested in providing a new senate headquarters he has estimated the remodeling cost of the farnum building would be more than 25000000 however according to governor snyder rsquo s administration officials the real cost to fixup the farnum is much cheaper and as low as 11464500 richardville says bids for the project are due back no later than august 15 when they will be opened and considered while richardville says he could have sole authority to pick the winning bid he rsquo ll likely seek out the opinions of others like his democratic counterpart senator gretchen whitmer however currently whitmer feels the farnum building is just fine hopefully the bill will die in committee in the house if it doesn t call you state representative and let them know how you feel about a new senate office building it rsquo s time for a part time legislature to read more about the moves to get a new senate office building go on line at  http wwwwxyzcom news localnews investigations lameducksenatorpushingfornewofficesthatplentyoflaw farnum bldg city hall farnum bldg city hall lansing city hall has been in the works to sell to the state either directly or as a lease through a private buyer for years back into the hollister as mayor era you remember hollister s quote in the lansing state journal back then about lansing city hall clunky old junky old city hall based on richardville s quote it sounds like a tear down and new building for the senate something like the building of the new house office building and state police building downtown i recall back in the 90s when fiber optic or something similar was being installed at around city hall under hollister s administration the city included an actual easement through city hall basement of wire going to the state an easement that runs with the land rather than a revocable license which certainly was a signal of their certainty that the state would ultimately be the next owner of lansing city hall in addition to the easement other hocuspocus sales features will include the better view of the capitol for individual offices and proximity to the house office building in the former board of water light building that is connected to city hall i would expect ferguson and granger to be intermediaries in their usual approach of appealing to both sides of the aisle in some financial fashion for transfer of city hall to the state that is foolish for the taxpayers on both sides no idea about plans in store for the farnum building but i wouldn t be surprised if this too winds up in the hands of ferguson and granger now or delayed until after a decent period after the state moves into new digs no idea on where it is that the city wants to buy remodel build they will surely want something more modern and with more onsite parking one possibility hanging over from the hollister era has been the city s square block bounded by capitol ionia seymour and shiawassee and across from a city ramp wouldn t it be something if ferguson and granger wind up being intermediaries in both buildings too in both instances the taxpayers will take it in the ear to buy and sell buildings and to fix them up as palaces for both state and city governments interesting isn t it how elected officials responsible for buildings owned by their governmental jurisdiction act like lousy slumlords who fail to take care of their buildings and then whine about their condition mumbling about condemnation and then like welfare tenants want to leave their building and expect the taxpayers to provide them with a new and different palace really tiresome stephanie whitbeck great insight into what goes great insight into what goes on potentially behind the scenes  