News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
After three-and-a-half years, and $12,228 spent on plans, the Sisters City Council has given up on converting the 9,200-square-foot bowling alley into a new city hall.
The council decided Thursday, July 10, to hold a public hearing to declare the bowling alley, donated to the city in April, 1994, as surplus property. That would clear the way to sell the building and use the proceeds to add on to the existing city hall.
Previous city councils were unable to decide what to do with the city hall project and it took almost three years to determine what a remodel of the bowling alley would cost. Plans drawn up by an apprentice draftsman for $5,000 were scrapped because they were deemed inadequate. The city's engineering firm Mortier Engineering drew up plans at a cost of $7,228 that were approved by the council.
The current city council finally got a bid on the project in February, totaling $498,762. The council decided that the price tag was too high.
"We're a dinky little town of 800 people," Councilor Gordon Petrie said in a workshop Thursday evening. "We can't afford it, period."
But city staff have made it clear that they can't continue working in the cramped conditions of the existing city hall. Not only does the building lack adequate office space, the roof leaks under rain and snow, and the building has no air conditioning.
According to City Administrator Barbara Warren, more office space for planning and public works is the most urgent need. Currently planner Neil Thompson and public works director Gary Frazee share a small office.
Warren also cited a need for a room where city business meetings can be held privately. She said that people making inquiries at the planning department don't like discussing their business in the middle of the council chambers.
Greater security for the police department is also a priority, though Warren noted that physical security measures such as installing special window glass and locks could be expensive.
Mayor Steve Wilson advocated that the city consult immediately with an architect to add office space at the rear of the building and to install air conditioning and a proper public address system.
The city has $177,317 set aside in a city hall remodeling fund. That money could be used immediately to start remodeling the existing city hall.
Wilson said he believes proceeds from the bowling alley sale should also be earmarked for the project, which could be handled in phases.
"We can go back and we can go up," Wilson said.
A second story addition would have to straddle the existing building on pillars, Petrie noted.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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