Flood Recovery, Government
City Council continues talks on flood-damaged city buildings
Posted on Nov 04, 2009 by Rick Smith.
There’s a certain unreality to some of City Hall’s discussions right now about key flood-damaged city buildings, particularly the longtime home of City Hall, the Veterans Memorial Building.
That’s because there was an election Tuesday in which Ron Corbett soundly defeated current council member Brian Fagan for mayor, and Corbett objects to the city building a new $50-million city hall, as does newly elected at-large council member Chuck Swore.
Runoffs for two of the nine council seats are slated for Dec. 1.
Even so, much of the talk to the City Council Wednesday night from consultant Dan Thies, president/CEO of OPN Architects Inc., and City Manager Jim Prosser was about a new city hall as the city prepares for the third in a series of open houses on public facilities on Nov. 17 and 18.
A frustrated council member Monica Vernon at one point told Thies and Prosser that she wanted to hear about options that would put some city employees back in the Veterans Memorial Building, some in what will be a city-owned former federal courthouse and others in other downtown buildings.
Vernon doesn’t accept many of the premises that Thies and Prosser are using to make a case for a new city hall, such as the need to have many city employees under the same roof, what Prosser calls a building with “full functionality.”
Vernon said she needs to see some proof that the city can’t be fully functional just because some city employees aren’t sitting next to one another.
Prosser said the open house on Nov. 17 and 18 will include options other than building a new city hall, options with what he called “limited functionality.”
Council member Chuck Wieneke said a $50-million city hall might make sense compared to the cost of keeping employees in several buildings over time.
Prosser repeated what he has said before: That the city might convince the federal government to pay for a new city hall in a centralized “civic campus” of buildings. This could be the “one opportunity” to get funding for “something really unique,” he said.
What is certain is that the city is going to replace its flood-ruined downtown library with a new one as well as build a new Intermodal Transit Facility.
Thies and Prosser said putting those two buildings and a new City Hall next to one another would allow them to share parking, perhaps a geothermal energy system and a meeting room.
Thies assured Vernon that the library project could move ahead independent of talk of a new city hall.
The city continues to work on buying a two-plus-block downtown site now occupied by a Pepsi warehouse operation. An adjacent block across Fourth Avenue SE from Greene Square Park, which now houses the offices of TrueNorth, figures in a couple of the plans. In one, the park would expand to two blocks, and in another, the park would add an extra half block with the library built on the block’s other half. The library would face the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art in that option.
I have a hard time believing that spreading employees out will keep or gain efficiency from current or previous levels. Having previously managed employees at separate locations and then having them all under one roof, i can attest to the fact that having them all in one one space is more efficient. It certainly cost more to heat two 30,000 square foot buildings than it did to heat one 60,000 square foot building.
good coverage Rick. good article, but not nearly as thrilling as having you type the 'play by play' tonight on the Live Coverage and allowing us to respond and ask more questions than asked by the Council.
So far, the buildings on May's Island will not be protected by the permanent Levy!
No, it won't by a levee might protect it>
I still stand by my position that its ludicrous to return vital city functions to the islands, but even more so to want to spend upwards of $50 million for a unified central campus that seems more and more just to be a great bullet point on Prosser's resume.
i believe you have grasped the nut, thumsbsupracing. please suggest a solution. wouldn't it be prudent to repair and renovate Vet's to a lustrous center of the City and utilize it for, perhaps, 15% of City function for, say, the elected officials, and most specifically for public events and to receive dignataries? with all of this cost of repair being covered by the FEMA payment? AND Doing It As Soon As Possible?!? and afterward of this decision, utilizing the old Fed Bldg, which is to be remodeled to our specifications and request? so far, we have no cost, correct? well, with that in mind, and knowing that Prosser has purchased so much property downtown, could we then look at the City Library and a Campus proposal which can be considered for construction after Prosser and Fowler are no longer in power?
I firmly agree with not spending millions to risk essential services being located in flood prone areas. This may be putting the cart before the horse but I think at least one building may serve some purpose that could be cost effective. The Ground Transportation Center being intertwined with private enterprise makes demolition out of the question. Why not look at either selling the old City bus terminal to the apartments above it as a rec/activity center? Or use it as the Citys' own fitness Center? This option would also allow the exterior to be used as an excellent place for Farmers Market. Vendors would have diagonal spots to park and set up and be protected for the most part from the elements.
are you Sarah Ordover? we were talking about utilizing the existing buildings to continue the day to day work of the City government and suddenly this note you have typed infers that there should be a Farmers Market on the properties. way off the mark, there Sarah. get the correct functions initiated and redirect your grey matter toward what we have need.
they can move back into may's knowing that the bottom may flood again. if it does flood, its not a suprise and workers can get a few unpaid days off.
stay there for the next 5-10 years and see what happens with the population and with the economy. in ten years time you will be able to research and explore different options and see what is truly needed and hopefully at that point have a trustworthy council/manager.