- May 6, 2024
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To rent or to build? Buy or lease? A divided City Council on Tuesday decided to wait a bit longer before it decides how to address City Hall.
Last week, six former elected officials stood before the City Council during public comment and asked the council to institute a commission to look at viable options for a City Hall.
The current facility poses workflow problems and isn’t business friendly, they said. City Councilman Jason DeLorenzo said Thursday that he agrees there are workflow issues in the city’s current facility.
“I don’t have an office, and I don’t work there every day, but it doesn’t look like an efficient workspace,” DeLorenzo said.
The engineering and planning departments, which often work cooperatively, are located on different floors.
“(The current facility) has nooks and crannies that don’t foster good communication between the departments that generally work together,” DeLorenzo said.
A staff report that outlines a fiscal analysis of the current building and lease options will likely be presented to the City Counil in 30 days. After those discussions, the City Council could determine whether it wants to implement a commission to look at new headquarters.
DeLorenzo and City Councilman Bill Lewis were in support of establishing a commission.
City Councilman David Ferguson say now is not the right time. Councilman Bill McGuire agreed: “For a city that’s only 13 years old, for us not to have a City Hall is not Armageddon. You do what you have to do.”
McGuire said the City Hall issue should be put back on the city’s five-year strategic plan, but not much else should be done right now.
“The timing is not right,” he said. “I mean, if we found a place today ... I don’t have any money. So I just think the possibilities are there, and I think the potential is there, and as far as I’m concerned, unless someone from the private sector came to us and said, ‘I’ve got an idea that I want you to consider,’ it’s just not the right time for us to do it.”
McGuire said he doesn’t agree with the idea that “having an ostentatious building is going to attract business and industry.”
Lewis didn’t agree with McGuire assessment. Instead, he supports a lease-to-buy scenario.
“We’re already paying the money out now,” he said. “Why rent from a bank when you can lease and buy?
Lewis is in support of creating a commission to further analyze City Hall options.
City Attorney Bill Reischmann pointed out that the city can’t enter a lease-to-purchase agreement that extends beyond three years without going to the voters.
Ferguson echoed the notion that the city’s image is likely influenced by the governmental headquarters, wherever that might be.
“Whether that is an economic driver or not, I don’t know,” he said. “But certainly, for overall image of the city, I think there’s some benefit to having a more prestigious-looking place where the government of the people is conducted.”
Ferguson said he would like to see more economic and financial analysis, though.
“I would say the timing is still not a good time for the city to take the initiative,” he said.
DeLorenzo said exploring the options through a committe is prudent, but, “if we were to go down that road, I think we need to provide (the committee) with some guidance. We need to give them a mission.”
