Ark Valley News - Park City gets look at proposed City Hall

Park City gets look at proposed City Hall
By Chris Strunk
Last Updated: January 08, 2015

The Park City council got its first look at an architect's drawings of a new City Hall and police department facility last week.

Some council members were impressed.

During a meeting Dec. 23, City Administrator Jack Whitson said the new $4.5 million building is being designed to accommodate the city for the next 20 years.

Kirk Jurgensen with WDM Architects said the building was the result of several meetings with city staff and Mayor Ray Mann.

The building would sit west of the public library on 61st North. The parking lot would have space for the public in the front, staff on the side and the police department (with gated access) in the back.

The floor plan includes a large lobby leading to the council chambers with 102 seats for the public, city services staff and the police department.

The facility would have booking and holding cells for the police, a room to store firearms, shared conference and training rooms and several offices for police administration as well as city staff.

In the back of the building is an enclosed garage the police department can use to load and unload people in custody.

The basement would be used for storage.

Jurgensen said the building's exterior was designed with three different materials — metal panels, stone and brick — giving it a modern look.

City leaders acknowledged that the proposed 10,000-square-foot facility has more space than the city currently needs. However, Whitson said if the building is financed over 20 years, it should maintain its usefulness for at least that long without being forced to consider additional space and expense.

"We don't want to go 10 years down the road and say, ‘Oops, we've got to add more space and we haven't paid off the old space yet,' " Whitson said.

The building would be able to hold 70 city staffers. Currently, Park City employs 48.

Mann said all city department heads toured other city halls in the area and wrote wish lists with a focus on future needs.

"This place we kind of maxed out," Mann said, referring to the current City Hall at 6110 N. Hydraulic. "… This is what I'd call a dream facility."

Council member Chris Johns complimented the architect.

"They did a good job of interpreting the vision that we had," he said. "… I think it looks really good."

Council member George Capps, former police chief, said it's time for the city to keep its word to the police department when it promised that moving into a building next to the maintenance facility in the 200 block of East 53rd North about 20 years ago was only temporary.

The council will be introduced to a layout of the building's mechanical equipment during its next meeting Jan. 13.

The current City Hall was built in 1987 and had its first addition in 2000.

In other business, the council:

•Voted 5-3 to move the city's workers compensation insurance from KMIT to EMC, which offers a deductible and a cheaper annual premium. Tom Jones, Capps and Mike Alumbaugh voted against the change.

•Voted 9-0 to approve a charter ordinance exempting the city from a statute that proscribes how special alcohol and drug funds can be spent. Park City Chief Phil Bostian said the department wants more flexibility with how the money is spent, while maintaining its focus on drug and alcohol abuse education, treatment and intervention.