Wednesday, November 8, 2006

Ketchum OKs money for City Hall remodel

Reconfiguration of second floor will accommodate new staff


By REBECCA MEANY
Express Staff Writer

The second floor of Ketchum City Hall will get a facelift, pursuant to a decision made by the City Council Monday. Photo by Willy Cook

Despite a reluctance to do so, the Ketchum City Council approved another expenditure for Ketchum City Hall.

The $41,000 the council allocated Monday, Nov. 6, will pay for remodeling and new carpet on the building's second floor to accommodate new staff.

"Staff was directed at the (August) retreat to fill all positions, and now we're short office space," said City Administrator Ron LeBlanc.

The reconfiguration would place administrative staff facing the second-floor entrance, but it would also eliminate the mini waiting space used by people who come in to speak with city staff.

"The ultimate solution is, if we're successful in consolidating our emergency dispatch center, hopefully within the next year, that room (on the north side of the building) we could incorporate as a waiting room," said Mayor Randy Hall.

The cities of Sun Valley and Ketchum have hired a consultant to study the merging of their fire departments. If deemed feasible, it could free up money and space.

Many elected officials have been loathe to spend any money on the aging building, saying it needs to be torn down and replaced. That prospect, however, would cost more than $10 million and would come at a time when the city is trying to inject money and time into other projects.

"Obviously, I don't like spending any money on this place," Hall said. "But given the work we're asking these people to do ..."

Hall has repeatedly called for a bond election or other means to pay for a new City Hall.

The building, he said, is not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and requires staff and the public to access the second floor via an outside staircase. In the winter, ice and snow present problems there and elsewhere.

The council this summer voted to allocate nearly $100,000 for a carport to address winter safety concerns. A city employee last winter slipped and fell on the ice, causing her to take two months leave. In the same spot, snow slid off an adjacent roof, causing $1,000 in damage to a city vehicle.

Although the money for the police carport will come out of the police trust fund, it, like Monday's discussion, reinvigorated the debate about how much money should be spent to patch up the building.




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