Open houses next week: Build new City Hall or use existing buildings?

City officials on Friday were reminding residents to attend an open house next Tuesday or Wednesday to weigh in on whether the city should use existing buildings for city offices or build a new City Hall.

An earlier open house put the cost of a new “one-stop” City Hall at more than $50 million, though advocates for new construction make the argument that a new one-stop building will save money over time.

A peek provided by City Hall of what is to come at next week's open houses shows that two of the three options to use existing buildings for city offices call for using the flood-damaged Veterans Memorial Building - which has been home to City Hall for some 80 years - as well as the existing federal courthouse nearby in addition to other space. The city is slated to take ownership of the courthouse, which is being replaced by a new one.

One “build-new” option imagines a downtown facility or campus where city and county offices both would be located. The county has not signed on to this.

The city open houses will be held in The Ballroom at the Crowne Plaza Five Seasons Hotel from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday and 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Mayor-elect Ron Corbett and council member-elect Chuck Swore are opposed to building a new building. Council member Monica Vernon has said most office-bound city employees never see the public, and as a result, she said it doesn't make sense to build a new customer-friendly building to put most of them in. Council member Kris Gulick also has wondered about the cost of building a new building.

Next week's open houses also will provide options for the city's existing public works building, 1201 Sixth St. SW, and the city's parks system.

City officials appear to believe they have what city consultant OPN Architects Inc. calls a “clear path” that plans for replacing the flood-wrecked library, central fire station and animal control shelter with new buildings.