Philomath City Hall plans to go through a fairly extensive remodeling project over the next year to expand office space, improve accessibility and better protect employees.
City Manager Chris Workman went through City Hall’s needs at a Feb. 26 City Council meeting during a review of the city’s Capital Improvement Plan, which includes specifics in areas such as facilities.
An expansion of City Hall looms at a major need.
“We’re crowded, we’re full, I mean, we have no space for anybody,” Workman said.
Workman illustrated the point with a few examples.
“It’s anecdotal, but we did have an opportunity — we had a grad student come across the city manager’s listserv that said, ‘hey, I’m graduating, I’ve got some time, if anybody wants me to do some work for you on a pro bono basis for six months. I can work on economic development, I can help you bring a grocery store to town.’”
Workman said the idea sounded “awesome” but had to pass on the opportunity because there is nowhere to put the student.
“I would love to have a place where I could put a part-time employee,” he said. “We are at our max and then some.”
He also mentioned the city planner that is currently using closet space for an office.
“We try to open the door every once in a while to get some fresh air in there and it’s just not ideal,” Workman said. “There are other things here and I won’t go on and on but there’s definitely some revisions that could be made to make for a better arrangement and more space for additional capacity.”
Workman said the city has talked with an architect to develop possible approaches to a remodeling project. Another need involves employee safety.
“Our current system, although it’s very friendly, it also puts all of our employees at quite a bit of risk of danger if somebody were to come in with mal intent,” Workman said. “It’s been a concern, it’s been raised by our employees.”
Workman said there have been various incidents with people acting aggressively, including a few instances of pens being thrown at staffers.
“We have people that come in directly from court after being told they’re paying a fee … and they’re not very happy about it,” Workman said. “We have panic buttons at several of the stations — we find that they work most of the time and sometimes they don’t work.”
On the ADA needs, Workman said the building meets the letter of the law but there is no ramp or accessible parking in front of the main entrance that creates an unapproachable feel. In addition, a lack of automated door entries and a high counter can be especially problematic for those in wheelchairs. A safer way to get from the sidewalk on Applegate Street to the front entrance was also mentioned.
Workman said he would also like to see City Hall add some aesthetic features to blend with the Timber Town theme, a design that’s been encouraged to businesses as part of downtown improvements.
“City Hall hasn’t changed a whole lot since it was built,” Workman said. “So we want to do some façade improvements on the outside of City Hall, a little bit of a facelift, maybe put ‘City Hall’ on the building somewhere so people know what building it is, get some lighting on it … those types of things.”
Workman said any changes apply to the front area of the building, which takes into account future growth.
“We know that the city will continue to grow and eventually we’re going to need to add more staff and so any additions to the building will be to the back or to the side,” Workman said. “Everything we do with this project and remodel will stay.”
A change in the Capital Improvement Plan pushes back work that had been slated for the police department, which helps the city come up with funds needed now for the City Hall project.
The council’s unanimous approval of the plan includes moving forward $420,316 to be included in the 2024-25 fiscal year budget for the City Hall improvements.
“That’s the target (amount to spend) and if it looks like it’s going to need more than that, then I’ll be coming back to you,” Workman said in response to a question on the cost. “But this is a good budgetary working number for us right now.”
