Oakland County road commissioners voted Monday to stop efforts to build a new $43 million administration building. The move means millions in taxpayer dollars already spent on plans, site prep and construction delays will be wasted even as the main contractor says he will not sue for breach of contract, avoiding potentially millions of dollars more in legal fees and a settlement.

The contract was approved by commissioners in August 2024 with a groundbreaking in October. Site preparation lasted until February this year when commissioners voted 2-to-1 to suspend work and explore other options.

The commission spent more than $3.5 million for engineering, site preparation and other work at the new building’s planned location at 2420 Pontiac Lake Road in Waterford Township. Road commission officials said they have lost $2 million during the four-month construction delay and are waiting on outstanding bills worth an estimated $4.3 million.

County Commission Chairman Dave Woodward made the request. The road commission operates and is funded independently from the county, but the county commission appoints road commissioners. For two years, the county has studied converting the road commission to a county department. The study was completed earlier this year but not released Woodward said he is working on it.

Road Commission Chairman Eric McPherson and new commissioner Jim Esshaki voted in February to put the project on hold. Commissioner Nancy Quarles voted against the delay. She has since left the commission to work for a state board. On Monday, McPherson and Esshaki — the remaining commissioners — agreed to end the contract despite objections by former road commissioners, including Andrea LaLonde, and County Commissioner Karen Joliat.

The road commission had considered buying and converting the county’s executive office building, but an engineering study found the renovation would cost more than $60 million, significantly more than a new building. So that option is off the table.

On Monday, Woodward told the road commissioners that the executive office building at 2100 Pontiac Lake Road in Waterford Township isn’t the only option, especially at a time when the county has millions of square feet of empty office space.

He said all counties are facing a financial cliff because of inconsistent federal and dwindling state funding.

“I don’t care where (the new administration building is,” Woodward said. “I care that this road commission works in closest partnership and collaboration with Oakland County where it makes sense, with (the sheriff’s office) where it makes sense, (the county’s homeland security office) where it makes sense, and I will continue to advocate for that day in and day out.”

Woodward said he should have started conversations with the road commission much earlier than his February request, when so much work had already been done for a new building.

Esshaki said the commission needed to put its financial house in order to ensure proper road, equipment and building maintenance, including at the current administration building at 31001 Lahser Road in Beverly Hills. He said this was not a good time to build a new building.

Dennis Kolar, the road commission’s managing director, said there’s never a good time to construct a new building. The commission has operated from offices in Beverly Hills and Waterford Township for more than 50 years with a long-term plan to bring the two groups to adjacent buildings.

Frank Rewold, president and CEO of the lead contractor, Frank Reworld & Sons, said he was disappointed in the decision but moving forward.

Despite concerns of lawsuits after a canceled contract, Rewold said he is not planning to sue because he doesn’t want to waste taxpayer dollars.

“I’m not in the middle of the political stuff going on (between the county commission and road commission),” he said. “We have to work things out … We have 25 to 30 vendors to notify. This isn’t just Rewold & Sons.”

A Rewold attorney present at Monday’s special meeting is working with the attorney appointed by the road commission, Tim Dugan, to settle accounts.

Rewold said he expects a fair settlement, but declined to estimate a figure.

“The county has been a good client in the past and hopefully will be in the future,” he said. “We’re trying to take lemons and make lemonade. What’s done is done … I’m sure they’ll be fair with us as we’ll be fair with them.”

Woodward said after the meeting the road commission’s priorities should be road repairs and maintenance, then fully funding the pension fund for employees. Once that account is fully funded, he said, the commission will have more money to spend on roads.

Road commission spokesman Craig Bryson said the pension is 89% funded, far above any other road commission in the state. Bryson said it’s the envy of the public sector. The commission owes $27 million, he said. The commission pays between $4 million and $5 million into the fund annually, he said. Oakland County’s pension was fully funded under a bond plan by former County Executive L. Brooks Patterson.

McPherson said Monday he’d been talking to road commission employees and estimated that 85% did not want a new building though it’s unclear where he got that figure.

About 220 of the road commission’s 439 employees belong to Operating Engineers 324, which is currently negotiating a new contract, according to union spokesman Dan McKernan.

“Our general feeling whatever the commission has to do to make sure that these workers are compensated with fair wages is what’s important to us,” McKernan said. “We don’t have a statement on this building situation.”

The current contract expires on Aug. 6.

County Executive Dave Coulter said governments at all levels are navigating significant policy and economic uncertainty.

“The road commission’s decision is both understandable and prudent,” he said, adding that his office is “always willing to collaborate with partners like the road commission on shared needs when those opportunities arise.”