MONROE — This month, Monroe city employees are moving to temporary offices while the city hall’s administrative wing will soon go through a renovation.
The more-than-$15 million project will take around two years to complete and will add around 9,000 square feet of space for a community court, better council chambers and more space in general.
Its current building is "substantially undersized for the amount of staff we have,” said Jakeh Roberts, city public works director.
During construction, City Council meetings will now take place at the Monroe School District community room at 14692 179th Ave. SE (near the hospital) starting July 11. The temporary City Hall will operate out of a medical building also on 179th Avenue SE. Public works and the Municipal Court will operate from 769 Village Way. Non-council board meetings such as the planning commission have begun meeting at the Village Way address.
The Police Department will still have its station at 818 W. Main St.
Plans for renovating the city campus have been around since 2008 when the campus master plan was completed. The project includes a new municipal court and City Council chambers, a new foyer with counter areas, more space to meet demands of an increasing population and improved safety features of the city campus.
The city hall building at 806 W. Main St., which used to be a car dealership that the city acquired in the 1970s, hasn’t seen substantial improvements in the past 30 years, Roberts said.
The offices are crowded, the roof leaks and there’s sewer issues, Mayor Geoffrey Thomas said. “It’s a structure in need of renovation.”
Roberts said the building also doesn’t meet ADA requirements, which were also different when the city acquired the building.
Monroe is a growing city. The city’s population in 2020 was 19,699 people, which is an increase from 17,304 in 2010, according to information from the U.S. Census.
Becky Hasart, the city’s finance director, stressed that the project will be paid without a tax increase to residents.
The city is taking out $15.27 million in limited government obligation bonds, also known as councilmatic bonds, to pay for the renovation. Those bonds will be paid with first quarter Real Estate Excise Tax collections.
“It’s meant to pay for capital improvements that is meant to serve the people as they move into a home,” Hasart said. She added the targeted sale of the bonds will take place by the end of June.
Monroe received an AA bond rating from Standard and Poor’s Global Rating, according to a press release from the city.
Roberts said the City Hall project will go out to bid later in the summer and the City Council will decide on awarding a contract. He expects construction to begin in the early fall.
Thomas said he expects employees will move back into the renovated city hall sometime in the summer of 2025.
Once the renovation of the administrative wing wraps, the city will still want to remodel the police station. Components for the police station project hasn’t been identified yet. Roberts said the city needs to hire an architect to conduct the assessment.
