Council Approves City Hall Remodel

In a special called meeting on Friday, January 29, the city council approved a $15,000 budget for remodeling to city hall and the police department.

On Monday, workers began turning the council chamber into additional office space. When work is completed, there will be three additional offices and a small conference room for staff meetings.

"We haven’t decided if we will be able to move the municipal court to city hall," said city manager Jim Stephens. "We’re going to see how much room we have when the work is done. Our intent is to save the expense of rent for the court and to make ourselves more efficient."

In an emailed statement, councilperson Deby Frye said:

"I’m happy about the renovations being done at city hall that will allow for the best usage of the space we have. It should take care of the needs of the staff, and according to Mr. Addison (councilman Paul Addison) it will be a fix that will last our needs for at least five to seven years.

"By utilizing the council chamber to add much needed office space, we are being prudent in our spending and use. The council can meet at the chamber building, the municipal court or even at the new county building.

"I don’t believe that any of the city government feels we must have our own room and we can conduct business comfortably elsewhere while still providing ample space for the public to attend.

"So it seems that we were able to find a way to address our needs without spending nearly half a million dollars and have that down to roughly $15,000. In these economic times, and with our city manager stressing the need to get a reserve fund set aside that can cover city expenses for at least three months, it is the perfect solution in my opinion."

Reached by phone for a comment, Addison said the remodel was a temporary solution to a permanent problem.

"The remodel at city hall is definitely a needed improvement, but this will only take care of our immediate needs temporarily. Our original intent was to provide a permanent solution to a small problem before it became a big one, and to do it at a time when construction costs were at the lowest possible level.

"In the past two months, material costs have risen between 20 and 30 percent. If we quoted the project today, it would cost $80,000 more to build than when it was originally approved.

"With the growth rates predicted for this area by the North Texas Council of Governments, the city is going to have to hire more police and other city employees in the next few years, and we won’t have room for them. We are likely to find ourselves in the position of having to be reactive instead of proactive.

"In five to seven years we could be faced with the prospect of beginning the payment process on a much more expensive building, instead having a less expensive one half paid for."