HASTINGS, Neb. (KSNB) – A new city hall building could be on the way for Hastings. That is the recommendation that will be presented to the city council during the work session on Monday.
The Hastings City Hall Committee has spent several months gathering information and feedback to come to the decision after it was decided that the city hall was in need of repairs, along with asbestos and mold found.
After examining the options, the committee said the new city hall should be built at the spot where the current one sits.
The estimated cost and grading for the new building is $8,858,170. That’s $400,000 or 4.7% more than the renovation option.
Officials said the new building option provides the newest, energy-efficient technology. The schedule to get the build done would be about 6-12 months faster than renovation.
The committee said this option reduces concerns about the unknowns of renovation.
Here are the cost estimates and grading of potential options:
New Build (Grade A-), $8,858,170 (Previously $10,868,746)
Renovation (Grade: B+), $8,461,139 (Previously $9,330,579)
North Denver (Grade: B-), $10,363,855 (Previously $9,094,046)
Repair (Grade: F), $2,000,000
It will be up to the city council on which option they choose.
A survey was conducted in which nearly 600 residents shared their thoughts on City Hall. One of the survey questions asked if the location of City Hall is important to residents. Around 55% said it was very or somewhat important. Around 45% indicated that it was not so important or not important at all. There were, however, an overwhelming number of comments that seemed to indicate residents want City Hall in the downtown area. There were also a significant number of comments that indicated a desire to have City Hall in a central location.
The committee said they’ve analyzed the data and feel that council can make an informed decision on behalf of the residents of Hastings. One thing that was a challenge was the increase of costs over the past year and a half since the last architectural drawings were provided. Costs for two of the options were reduced from the last estimates.
Officials said the new drawings are not a perfect comparison to previous designs. For example, the prior renovation of city hall included a council chamber addition, whereas the new plan removes the addition.
Architectural drawings are not set in stone, but an educated guess on potential costs and general layout of each option. Bids are not obtained until drawings are set.
No action will be taken on this during Monday’s work session but rather at a future meeting.
Members of the City Hall committee included: City Administrator Shawn Metcalf; Trent Kelly, Director of Technology and Operations, Hastings Public Schools; Chris Wissing, Vice President of Johnson Imperial Homes; Dave Rippe, CEO of Queen City Development; Lee Vrooman, City Director of Engineering; Marty Stange, City Environmental Director; Kim Jacobitz, City Clerk.
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