City Manager David Johnston presented three options to the City Council concerning where City Hall should and could be located in the near and distant future.
In the immediate, Johnston said the Council needs to make a decision at the next City Council meeting, Aug. 24, between three options, the Hagen Plaza location where City Hall is currently located, 22035 S.E. Wax Rd., the Capstone building at 22443 S.E. 240th St. and the Dynamic Computer Services Organization/Windermere building at 22017 S.E.Wax Rd. next to the Post Office.
Johnston’s recommendation was to locate City Hall in the Windermere building. The positives for the site according to Johnston include it is already built to accommodate offices, there is an on-site building manager and a better community image.
The Capstone building is more expensive than the Windermere building, and both are more expensive than staying in the Hagen Plaza, based on a 10-year average.
One of the problems with the Hagen Plaza site is size.
“Hagen Plaza is viable for not more than four to five years,” Johnston said. “Capstone and DCS (Windermere) are viable for 10 plus years.”
Another issue Johnston addressed was all three options have space for the Chamber of Commerce office.
Johnston said there was initially no space at the Windermere building for the chamber office until “the two owners stepped up.”
The city manager went over the pros and cons of each site before recommending the DCS/Windermere building.
Some of the Hagen Plaza advantages are it is least expensive, it is visible for state Route 169 and the landlord is willing to loan the city money for improvements.
Some items on the minus side for Hagen is employee safety and privacy and it is not compliant with the Americans with Disability Act.
The good points for Capstone include visibility from SR 169, the city will be given first rights if the owners decides to sell, improved community image and the broker fee is paid by owner.
Some of the problems with Capstone are it is most expensive of the three, and it will need to be expanded to accommodate the staff.
On the good side for the Windermere building, the space is large enough for the current staff and the offices are wired for phone and computer technology.
The negative side includes the city will pay a broker fee and if the staff grows remodeling will be necessary.
The city manager told the Council whatever option is chosen, “the Council planning for the Legacy site is imperative.”
The city hopes to build City Hall on the Legacy site through a public-private partnership, which means finding a developer willing work with the city.
The 50-acre site is located across from Rock Creek Elementary along SR 169.
Mayor Laure Iddings said, “in less than 10 years we are going to have our own facility (on the Legacy site), hopefully.”
The mayor encouraged citizens to voice their opinions on the three sites before or at the next City Council meeting.
