City hall being renovated

The renovations are expected to be completed by 2010.

By Robby Lewis

Published Oct. 5, 2007

If you plan on visiting Columbia City Hall, make sure you don't get lost in the construction.

The Columbia City Council passed an ordinance Aug. 7, 2006, approving the renovations of the Daniel Boone Building. The ordinance stated these renovations are necessary for the welfare and improvement of the city.

In his State of the City Address in August, City Manager Bill Watkins said the council unanimously determined the tipping point for city hall had arrived. A citizen task force on public hearings made the recommendation before the council made its decision, he said.

Assistant City Manager Tony St. Romaine said City Hall has been running out of space for awhile, and the number of new employees is constantly increasing.

"We typically increase in employee size by 1 to 1.5 percent each year," he said. "This adds up, though. With new programs, there comes a need for new employees."

The renovations of the Daniel Boone Building, which has been standing since 1917, should be completed by 2010. It will be a three-stage process, and stage one has already begun.

According to the city Web site, once completed, the new city hall will include a canopied drive-through area for utility customers, a five-story addition on the east side of the Daniel Boone Building, a complete interior renovation of the Daniel Boone Building, energy efficient windows, a new reflective roof and an exterior facade compatible with the new addition.

The process will also involve demolishing the utility services annex, according to the Web site.

Columbia Communications Director Toni Messina said the renovations have been a long time in the making.

"It's been something the council has looked at for many years," Messina said. "It was shown to the people many times and always voted against."

Messina said the reason it was turned away was the hefty price that came with the renovations. The ordinance stated that the entire renovation process would cost an estimated $22 million.

"It's a controversial topic any time the government spends money for their benefit," Messina said. "In the past, the money for this would have come from tax increases. This time the City Council approached it another way."

The ordinance stated the payments for the renovations will come from special obligation bonds or certificates of participation. They will be repaid through lease charges to city departments and similar funds.

Messina said the reduction of rented buildings is a way to not just help pay for the renovations, but also to help citizens who have to go to these buildings.

"We rent a lot of buildings," Messina said. "Citizens often have to go to these buildings to complete their business. Not only will reducing the number save money, but it will centralize service to the citizens."

St. Romaine is one of the main people involved in these renovations and said they are feasible and necessary.

"Studies in 1993 showed that we needed space," St. Romaine said. "Unfortunately, the proposal was turned down twice. Since 2001, we have taken out $700,000 a year from the General Fund and put it in the public buildings fund. This, along with the money we save by not renting third-party space, will make this affordable."

St. Romaine said while the need for space was increasing, the cost of the renovations was also.

"I researched how much it would of cost us in 2002 and 2005," St. Romaine said. "In 2002, the same scope of work would have cost $12.8 million. In 2005, it would have cost $17.7 million. The longer we wait, the more it will cost, and the need isn't getting any smaller."

In the place of the demolished utility services annex, a new public plaza will be built. St. Romaine said he hopes the rest of downtown will follow the same pattern.

"The public plaza will add significant pleasure to people coming downtown," St. Romaine said. "We're hoping to set a standard that the rest of downtown will follow by making it even more enjoyable."

The time period for payment of these renovations will be long and spread-out, but the benefits will last even longer, Messina said.

"The general feeling is that this is a long-term commitment, but it is worth it because it will accommodate city employee and citizen needs for at least the next 20 to 30 years," Messina said.