Page 18 - HB0623

Mayor’s Message continued

damage and now face an uncertain future as they rebuild Before the storms hit, we had already begun evaluating the
their homes and their lives. To me, that’s part of what being a possibility of building a new City Hall. That was because there
compassionate community is about. were basic but expensive renovations needed to keep pace
with the city’s needs as well as to address significant age-
On a closing note, city government had its own damage as a
result of the April floods. City Hall is inoperable, and we have related issues.
had to relocate all offices to temporary space. Now, the situation is more pressing.

When City Hall was built in the late 1960s, they placed all Our staff is working with insurance adjusters and engineers on
of the mechanical, electrical, fire control and air conditioning how best to proceed. The City Commission will likely make a
systems in a basement. It was also the location of our decision in the next couple months whether to undertake the
emergency generator and critical elevator and IT components. extensive repairs required or build a new headquarters.
That basement was under 8 feet of water for days following It’s my belief that the current City Hall is too damaged to be
the flood, with all of the essential equipment being destroyed salvaged and that we need to build a new facility. It’s a tough
in the process.
decision, but one that needs to be made.
We have used massive emergency generators to keep the Whichever direction we head, city operations will remain
building on life support and ensure mold and other downtown. The commission re-affirmed that commitment this
problems don’t arise while engineers evaluate the situation. past week. We all know that a City Hall is a vital component of
Our staff estimates it would cost more than $15 million to a vibrant downtown. Downtown is also the location where our
repair the building, and that the work would take at least two
years to complete. operations are the most accessible to the public. HB
Yours,
That repair cost doesn’t include the price of temporary offices, the
likelihood of asbestos remediation and the potential requirement Dean Trantalis
to bring all systems up to current building code standards. Nor
does it address the need to relocate critical systems from the
basement in order to avoid a repeat of what occurred.

16 HARBOR BEACH Magazine | www.harborbeach.org

6/4/23 4:42 PM
HB 0623.indd 16
HB 0623.indd 16 6/4/23 4:42 PM