City seeks community input on possible City Hall move

WAITSBURG—After receiving news that the asking price for the former Jehovah’s Witness church building has dropped significantly, and is now below assessed value, City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe asked that the discussion of a possible purchase and City Hall move be placed back on the Council’s agenda.

The Waitsburg City Council voted unanimously against pursuing the purchase in January of this year. At the same time, the Council voted not to retain loan funds for upgrades to the current City Hall, which sits at the corner of Preston Hall and Main Street, opting to budget for improvements over time, instead.

The initial discussion arose when Hinchliffe informed the Council of significant repairs and upgrades needed to keep City Hall operating safely and to become ADA compliant. Hinchliffe said the 1800-era building requires a new HVAC system, roof, windows, brick repointing and more. He said the upstairs needs remodeled and an outside access ramp and upstairs access are necessary for ADA compliance.

Hinchliffe proposed the purchase of the Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall which is one level, in good condition, and is located across from Preston Park and near the City Shop and the City Pool. At the time, the asking price for the building was $255,000. Hinchliffe said the asking price has now dropped to $199,000 and asked Council to reconsider a purchase and move.

Hinchliffe recited a list of recent cost estimates saying, “I could keep clicking off costs that the building needs. I could go at this all day. You know it needs a million dollars of work.”

“This is not purely a business decision. If it was, the numbers would speak for themselves and drive our decision, but this is a lot more than that. It is a very emotionally charges issue and there is a lot of community sentiment about why we are where we are and I think that has to be folded into this decision,” Kuykendall said.

Kuykendall said he had initially been in favor of the move but had received several calls from citizens opposed to the move and none in favor.

“I think we need to get this in front of the citizens and get some good feedback on this to decide if we want to take advantage of the financial benefits of moving,” Kuykendall said.

Council and community members have also expressed multiple reasons for opposing the move.

“You want to move the City’s brain center and operations into a flood plain? It was three feet under water (during the 1996 flood),” said Council Member Jim Romine.

Council member Kate Hockersmith suggested that citizens visit the flood display at the Wilson-Phillips House Museum to see just how far under water the building was. Hinchliffe argued that a repeat scenario is unlikely in light of subsequent flood-mitigation improvements.

In a Jan. 31 Times letter to the editor, Jeanetta Monfort questioned whether City taxpayers should be expected to pay flood insurance for such a move. She also asked if grant funds are available for City Hall repairs and access upgrades.

A repeated concern is that the move would remove City Hall from its highly visible location and would add yet another empty building to Main Street.

Council member Terry Jacoy said that the current building is functional, especially for two employees.

“We’re not running a business out of it,” he said.

Audience member Lane Gwinn encouraged the Council to consider what the current building could be used for, if not City Hall, in order to preserve the City’s history.

“I’d like to see if we can fan the flame a little bit around the conversation of idea generation of what we might do with City Hall in the eventuality that we might move to the JW building or another location. There are options other than just leaving it vacant or trying to sell it. It’s going to take some creative people who have a design eye and an understanding of what potential is there. We need to get some of those creative people around the table,” Kuykendall said.

Mayor Marty Dunn asked to table the conversation and spoke to the Council’s need for community input.

“Citizens need to show up here or they need to write letters. They need to communicate,” Kuykendall said.

Citizens are encouraged to submit letters with ideas or concerns to the Council through City Hall, contact council members individually, or submit letters to the editor to The Times.