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<br /> <br /> <br />The replacement of City Hall has been the next project priority. In July 2007, the council <br />directed that the existing site be used for the construction of a new City Hall. Since that time, the <br />council has made a couple of other key decisions to address space issues at City Hall. <br />Specifically, on July 29, 2009, the council authorized the City Manager to: <br /> <br /> <br />Negotiate and sign a Purchase and Sale Agreement for the acquisition, design, and <br />construction and move-in of police services at the 300 Country Club site. The City <br />Manager completed this negotiation and purchase in June 2010. <br /> <br /> <br />Plan for a future work session with the council to address moving remaining non-police <br />services out of City Hall. <br /> <br />Because the Police Department was the most difficult piece of the City Hall puzzle to solve, and <br />because EPD occupies over half the useable area in the building, relocating all police functions <br />to the Country Club Road facility makes it much easier to plan for relocating the remaining <br />functions from City Hall either temporarily or on a longer-term basis. Simultaneously, there are <br />opportunities to partner with new downtown development projects (as in the City’s commitment <br />to lease space in the Bennett building on Willamette Street) and to benefit from vacant office <br />space downtown. This provides for a variety of potential options for planning and phasing of a <br />new City Hall. <br /> <br />Although the council previously decided that a new City Hall should be built on the existing site, <br />the council also subsequently expressed interest in considering the current EWEB Headquarters <br />as the new location for City Hall. In May 2009, the council directed staff to send a letter to <br />EWEB to notify them that City officials wish to have first right of refusal for this site if EWEB <br />decides to sell. To date the City has not received any notification from EWEB regarding their <br />intent to sell the facility. <br /> <br />In September 2010, the council directed that City staff work with EWEB staff to evaluate the <br />feasibility of relocating City Hall functions to the EWEB headquarters property. EWEB and <br />City staff met four times—including a tour of the site—and shared information on space needs <br />and functional requirements. In considering the viability of this site, staff evaluated the physical <br />layout of the buildings, costs to address building deficiencies and necessary tenant <br />improvements, public accessibility to the facility, and proximity to other City facilities. A <br />summary analysis is included as Attachment A and a summary construction cost estimate as <br />Attachment B. The cost for acquiring and renovating the EWEB headquarters site to <br />accommodate City Hall functions is estimated to be at least $30 million. <br /> <br />Resources and Timing <br />The functional, structural, and safety issues at City Hall have been well-documented over the <br />past dozen years. In addition to the seismic vulnerability and deteriorating state of the facility, <br />the approaching deadline for termination of EWEB steam heat requires the development of a <br />short-term plan and timeline to address these problems. The City could have approximately $8 - <br />10 million available in one-time resources to accommodate relocation of services currently <br />located at City Hall and building the first phase of a new City Hall. <br /> <br />Staff has begun preliminary planning to vacate City Hall and relocate in temporary space until a <br />permanent City Hall solution is approved and built. This would address safety and cost concerns <br />\\Cesrv500\cc support\CMO\2011 Council Agendas\M110316\S110316A.doc <br /> <br />