The city staff at Pilot Point asked the City Council to shift gears regarding the old police building on the corner of Jefferson and Main during the council meeting on June 26.
City Manager Britt Lusk led the conversation, a discussion item seeking council direction, regarding not only the police building but City Hall as a whole.
“We thought it would be better if we looked at a bigger picture and what the future of Pilot Point’s needs will really be when it comes to a city hall,” Lusk said. “At this time, the direction we’re seeking is we would like to engage Conquest in tearing down that building and creating a pocket park on the Square on a temporary basis and going out to do a redesign for an entire city hall including this building we’re in now.”
He recapped the process up to now, including the previous work with Conquest to first stabilize the building, then redesign it as a community and office space.
“They designed a beautiful building; as you’ll recall, we were super excited about it, but as we received the construction documents and a bid, it was around $5 million,” Lusk said. “In talking with the Conquest team, it didn’t make a lot of sense to spend nearly $5 million on that building that was going to give us roughly 3,000 square feet.”
In the interim, staff began considering a broader approach, which would see both the old police station on the corner and the current city hall building demolished and replaced with up to 30,000 square feet of new city hall, as the current city hall’s space is not only too small but is suffering from structural and maintenance issues.
He referenced the fact that in the council chambers, the walls no longer touch the ground despite the building being stabilized on two occasions.
“We would include in a new city hall a new area for community space,” Lusk said. “We would also look at making sure we have enough office space not just for the next couple of years, but that we’d do it one more time and do it right and it would house us for the next 20 years. … A large portion of that would be council chambers and the community area.”
Council member Ray Dane asked for clarification on the temporary pocket park.
“It would be a grassy area with a park bench, maybe a picnic table or two, and where the wall connects with the old police building, … it would be a big space that would be perfect for a mural that would tie our community to what our future goals are,” Lusk said.
Dane then asked what would be done with the displaced staff while the building was being constructed.
“We would have to find a temporary space in the community where we could rent offices,” Lusk said. “Tonight, we’re just looking for direction because we have to figure it out.”
Council directed Lusk to move forward on the demolition of the old police building and continue staff’s current line of thinking regarding a new city hall in the near future.
“I would like to see staff pursue ideas,” council member Mike Wilson said. “We’re growing, whether we want to or not. Staff is going to grow, and the number of people that want to come to meetings is going to grow, especially when they see how much we’re spending, so eventually we’re going to have to build a new building, and it’s cheaper now than it will be 10 years from now.”
