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City Hall space: expand in place or move offices to Warren Road

Council and the administration have spent the year weighing how to give the Police Department, the court and city offices more space. minutes p. 1 Mayor George has argued for moving administrative offices to the former Board of Education building at 1470 Warren Road. letter

Issue pages: ORD 07-2026

What was decided

March 2, 2026: Council adopted S. Ordinance 07-2026 as amended, authorizing notes to pay for improving Winterhurst ice arena, City Hall and other public buildings. minutes p. 5 ▶ 1:41:23

Before the vote, Council amended the ordinance to change $1.8 million to $5.8 million and, on Councilmember Bullock's motion, to add the words “City Hall.” minutes p. 5

What's still pending

The records we found show no Council vote choosing between an addition at the current City Hall and moving offices to Warren Road. minutes p. 2 legislation

At the Feb. 9 Committee of the Whole, President Kepple noted that there is no design yet for a front addition to City Hall. minutes p. 3

What the documents say the reasons are

The Mayor's Jan. 5 letter cites a renovation figure of $16,250,700 from building owner Liberty Development, against a consultant estimate of $24,152,848. letter

The letter puts the total with City Hall renovations at $31,818,797 instead of $39,720,945, and says Liberty will contractually guarantee the price. letter

Assistant Planning Director Baas's Feb. 9 analysis set minimum functional space at 30,000 sq ft for police and 6,650 sq ft for the court. minutes p. 1

It compared staying in place with a small or a large (about 5,400 sq ft) front addition against relocating administrative offices to Warren Road or the Community Health Center on Belle Avenue. minutes p. 2

Mr. Baas said the analysis points to relocating administrative offices and divesting the Annex as having more advantages. minutes p. 2

The debate

Jan. 5: Councilmember Bullock asked whether the administration would consider a City Hall expansion instead of a two-campus solution; Mayor George said the administration believes expansion on its own is not suitable. minutes p. 3 ▶ 0:15:00

Jan. 5: Councilmember Bullock questioned debt-financing the 2026 architecture and design work, since that financing is typically reserved for capital projects. minutes p. 2 ▶ 0:08:19

Feb. 9: Vice President Baker said he is not convinced the City would need an extra 18,000 sq ft of office space in the near future. minutes p. 2

Feb. 9: Councilmember Hamilton Steiner said converting the current auditorium could disenfranchise voters, because three precincts vote there. minutes p. 3

Feb. 9: Councilmember Bullock said he is leaning toward making the current campus work and leaving the downtown building for commercial use. minutes p. 3

Feb. 9: President Kepple suggested the Community Health Center could serve as flex space while a long-term solution is worked out. minutes p. 3

What residents can do

Watch the Feb. 9 Committee of the Whole presentation and discussion in the City's video archive. ▶ 0:00:43

Comment online on Council agenda items through the City's eComment portal. eComments

Not in the public record we found

We found no Council minutes after March 2, 2026 that take up the City Hall relocation question. meetings

Every meeting where it came up

  1. Mar 2, 2026. City Council: Notes for Winterhurst Ice Arena, City Hall and other buildings (substitute version). Outcome: Motion passed. minutes ▶ 1:41:23 Meeting recap →
  2. Feb 9, 2026. Committee of the Whole: Communication from Mayor George regarding presenting the Administration's case for relocating to downtown… minutes ▶ 0:00:43 Meeting recap →
  3. Feb 2, 2026. Committee of the Whole: Communication from Mayor George regarding presenting the Administration's case for relocating to downtown… minutes ▶ 0:00:55 Meeting recap →
  4. Feb 2, 2026. City Council: Notes for Winterhurst Ice Arena, City Hall and other buildings (substitute version). Outcome: Deferred. minutes ▶ 0:34:42 Meeting recap →
  5. Feb 2, 2026. Committee of the Whole: Communication from President Kepple regarding City Hall Space Considerations Amended Schedule. minutes ▶ 0:00:50 Meeting recap →
  6. Feb 2, 2026. Committee of the Whole: Communication from President Kepple regarding City Hall Space Due Diligence Update. minutes ▶ 0:00:50 Meeting recap →
  7. Jan 26, 2026. Committee of the Whole: Communication from President Kepple regarding City Hall Space Due Diligence Update. minutes ▶ 1:31:07 Meeting recap →
  8. Jan 26, 2026. Committee of the Whole: Communication from President Kepple regarding City Hall Space Considerations Amended Schedule. minutes ▶ 1:31:07 Meeting recap →
  9. Jan 20, 2026. City Council: Finance director proposes adding $16.5 million for City Hall to the 2026 budget. Outcome: Received & filed. minutes ▶ 0:27:14 Meeting recap →
  10. Jan 20, 2026. Committee of the Whole: Communication from President Kepple regarding City Hall Space Due Diligence Update – Presentation on Project… minutes ▶ 0:00:23 Meeting recap →
  11. Jan 20, 2026. Committee of the Whole: Communication from President Kepple regarding City Hall Space Considerations Amended Schedule. minutes ▶ 0:00:23 Meeting recap →
  12. Jan 5, 2026. City Council: Kepple revises the City Hall discussion schedule. Outcome: Referred. minutes ▶ 0:08:19 Meeting recap →
  13. Jan 5, 2026. City Council: Mayor makes case for moving offices to old school board building. Outcome: Referred. minutes ▶ 0:15:00 Meeting recap →
  14. Dec 15, 2025. City Council: Kepple proposes a timeline for City Hall and debt decisions. Outcome: Received & filed. minutes ▶ 1:06:41 Meeting recap →
  15. Nov 17, 2025. Committee of the Whole: Communication from President Kepple regarding City Hall update. minutes ▶ 0:00:23 Meeting recap →
  16. Oct 20, 2025. City Council: Kepple reports on Council's City Hall space review. Outcome: Referred. minutes ▶ 0:22:57 Meeting recap →

News coverage

Every sentence links to its public source. Where the record is silent, this page says so. The meeting list is curated; new matching agenda items are flagged for review before they are added. How this is made