By Michael Howell
The Hamilton City Council decided last week to enlist the services of Bechtle Architects for $20,000 to evaluate the possibility of renovating the existing city hall building to house a new Law and Justice Center.
The council has been considering construction of a Law and Justice Center for some time and discussing other sites for the potential development. Special Projects Director Dennis Stranger told the Council that renovating the city hall building to accommodate those improvements could mean converting the community room to other uses.
Councilor Al Mitchell acknowledged that there has been a lot of discussion about the possible need for a new and improved Law and Justice Center and said, “It makes sense to look at this building first and see if we can fulfill those needs.”
Councilor Jenny West said that she wanted to keep the community meeting room and thought that it was a lot of money to spend just to figure things out.
Councilor Joe Petrusaitis said that he would like to see the ballot language that was used when the bond issue was passed to pay for the current building. He wondered if it contained language that included a community meeting room.
Mayor Jerry Steele said it was a long time ago.
Petrusaitis repeated his desire to see the ballot language.
“Go look it up,” said Steele.
“That’s the administration’s job,” Petrusaitis shot back.
“If you want to see it, go look it up,” Steele repeated. Then he said that the bond was on the ballot in 1984 or 1985 and that it was a twenty-year bond and the building’s usable life was estimated at twenty years.
“We’ve gotten thirty out of it,” he said.
The contract to do the evaluation was approved on a 3 to 2 vote with Councilors West and Petrusaitis casting the dissenting votes.
The council unanimously approved a change order with Dick Anderson Construction for the Well #5 Improvement Project to cover $22,894.80 in unexpected costs that arose due to the nature of the soils that were uncovered when the project got underway. Mayor Steele noted that it was the first major change order in the project which has a contingency fund of $80,000.
The Council unanimously approved a contract with Nelson Tree Service for tree removal and pruning in the amount of $9,892. The work involves removal of three trees that have been determined to be hazardous and the pruning of twenty others. Steele said that Nelson Tree Service was the only company that bid on the project.
Without any discussion the Council also unanimously approved the adoption of the City of Hamilton Rotational Towing Area and a revised Computer and E-mail Usage Policy for city personnel.
It was possibly the last meeting to be attended by outgoing Councilor Al Mitchell. Mitchell has served on the Council for eight years, but is moving on to work full-time as Director of the Bitterroot Valley Chamber of Commerce. He has worked part-time in that position for the last few years.