Phase one of city hall, police department expected to finish May 4

WASHINGTON - With exactly six weeks to go until phase one of the city hall and police station project is complete, City Administrator Brent Hinson said the project is right on track.

Previously, the city hall, police department and fire station were all under one roof, he said. A lack of space became apparent and adding on to the existing buildings to create room for everyone to operate successfully was necessary.

The existing building was about 9,400 square feet and housed all three entities. With the fire station build out completed last year, the city and police department were able to gain back about 5,000 square feet for operations in those two departments alone.

'The fire station added about 15,000 square feet to the building which is all fire department territory,” he said.

The existing building has been split into two phases, he said. Phase one will contain the majority of operations for city hall. It is expected to be complete by May 4.

Phase two will hold the majority of the operations for the police department and some city offices as well, he said. Once both entities are able to move into the newly renovated phase one space, construction on phase two will begin. Hinson said the tentative completion date for phase two will be Sept. 30.

The police department has been housed in the building since 2005, he said, and it was meant to be a temporary solution. However, the solution has lasted much longer than anticipated and more space is needed for the department.

'We've been in a temporary situation here for 15 years and we are just finally getting that rectified with getting the police the space they need,” he said, adding the department will double the amount of space they have access to.

A big change for the city hall side of the building will be the addition of a 1,500 square foot council chamber, he said. Currently the city council is meeting in the conference room at the fire station and before that in the Washington Public Library.

The entrance to the buildings will change also, he said, with all public access coming from the west side of the building. The east side, where the entrance for the police department currently is, will be for employees only. This will open up additional parking space for citizens as well.

From the new entrance, citizens will have a shared lobby space and access to public restrooms. The police department will have one window for its operations and the utility clerks for the city another.

Further into the building, each entity will have a conference room of its own to use.

'We've really built this plan around ease for meetings and that is the life blood of city government. No one person makes all the decisions. We all have to work together so you need a lot of meetings and a lot of collaborative space,” he said.

Originally the council estimated the cost would be around $1.6 million for both phases but the project total has risen to about $2 million, he said. Projects were able to be switched around to not add an extra burden on tax payers.

Despite COVID-19 concerns, construction has continued right on schedule, he said. A major delay was identified due to the contracted company being out of Illinois and the state having a shelter-in-place order for non-essential businesses. However, the problem was solved and construction continued as normal.

'We were able to get that all figured out so now we are in this May 4 completion date,” he said.