The Cottonwood City Council discussed the potential options for a new city hall facility during its Nov. 14 work session.
City staff have stated that having a centralized city hall will place all city administrative services within a single facility, providing centralized customer service to Cottonwood residents and allowing different departments to move out of Old Town, which will supply retail space for businesses and continue to support economic development of the area.
The council approved a $2.95 million contract to purchase the Rough Cut building located at 635 N. Main Street on Sept. 21, 2021, along with what were then two adjacent vacant parcels of land, for buildout as a new city hall. The building is a shell with no electrical, plumbing or HVAC systems.
After going through a selection process for an architectural firm to design the new city hall facility, council directed staff to proceed with a design contract with LAST Architects in August 2022. The initial schematics from that process were presented to council on May 9, at which time council requested more information on the design decisions that had been taken.
Public Works and Transportation Director David Hausaman discussed four relocation options and said that the city currently intends to move 48 employees to a new facility and will likely relocate 23 others, so the new site must accommodate a total of 71 employees. He added that the city is at capacity in its current buildings and is using some conference rooms and copy rooms for offices.
The city’s first option would permanently relocate the council chambers, city clerk and other associated programs to the Riverfront Water Reclamation Facility. This is the least-expensive option and would reduce estimated construction costs for the Rough Cut building to around $15.3 million. It would also offer the potential for the creation of retail space on the first floor that could be leased out to local businesses and nonprofits. The IT department and utility department would be located on the second floor.
If this option were to be chosen, the first floor shell would need to be reconstructed and the second floor completed. This option would reduce parking requirements at the Rough Cut site, as there is a large parking lot across from the Riverfront WRF.
The city’s second option would be to have the chambers and associated programs temporarily relocated to the WRF during a phased buildout of the Rough Cut building, which would cost around $20.2 million.
Option three would be to build out the project as the Cottonwood Municipal Center as planned at the Rough Cut building, which would cost around $22.8 million. Hausaman argued that this option would offer the best return on the city’s investment as construction costs continue to rise. It would require improved parking be developed at the site for large events, but all planned community components could also be constructed.
The city’s fourth option, a completely new building, would cost around $20 million, excluding the cost of land. It would also provide only about 25,000 square feet of space, which is half of the city’s needs.
Hausaman explained that if the city sold its five properties in Old Town [the clerk’s office and current council chambers, City Hall, the finance department building, the tourist information center and the youth center], the city could make between $2.4 million and $2.9 million on the deal.
Mayor Tim Elinski said that selling the city’s properties in Old Town is long overdue and that the land should belong to businesses.
Councilwoman Helaine Kurot said that she believed the city would be better off doing a full buildout and being done with it, a statement with which Vice Mayor Debbie Wilden agreed.
Councilwoman Lisa DuVernay claimed that the Rough Cut building has structural issues dating back to a 2006 inspection report. Councilman Derek Palosaari concurred with DuVernay and said that he did not want to use that building shell.
Council directed staff to do additional research and present it at a later date.
