Council: Buying building unlikely

Spokane Valley Realtors can step away from the cell phones.

The Spokane Valley City Council isn’t in a hurry to find a new home for City Hall.

A paltry revenue stream and uncertainty about the city’s future needs moved any serious talk of buying a building to the back burner. The council agreed at its meeting Tuesday to keep an eye open for an irresistible deal, but moving to a new space won’t be a top priority right now.

“I cannot imagine for four or five years doing anything in the way of a permanent type of move,” Councilman Dick Denenny said. “It’d be like a brand-new startup company buying a major building.”

The council has only begun to consider options for after its lease expires at Redwood Plaza in 2007. Ideas floating about include building a new City Hall in a city center that would act as a community gathering place, remodeling a vacant building, leasing a different space or staying put.

Deputy City Manager Nina Regor had surveyed council members earlier this month on their City Hall preferences and found some basic areas of common ground. All seven council members agreed that the city’s offices should be located on Sprague Avenue and not at Mirabeau Point, as had been suggested.

The majority of the council told Regor that the City Hall should be a “public investment in the community, to spur redevelopment or to help define the city’s identity.” Most preferred remodeling an existing building over constructing from scratch.

Four of the seven council members felt the City Hall should include a public plaza or other community gathering place.

The discussion Tuesday focused on unknowns. Will the economy improve and pump more sales-tax revenues into city coffers? Will Spokane Valley continue to contract out most of its services or will it start offering services in house, therefore requiring more space for employees and equipment?

“I’d rather be a little more cautious about making a commitment,” Mayor Mike DeVleming said.

Spokane Valley currently leases about 16,000 square feet of floor space. In the near future, it might need an additional 4,000 to 5,000 square feet, Regor said.

The city is considering moving some of its operations out of Redwood Plaza.

The parks and recreation department may go to the CenterPlace community center at Mirabeau Point once its construction is completed next year.

The council asked Regor to learn more about its future lease options at Redwood Plaza, including whether it could rent year to year after 2007. The council also asked her to further study the cost of buying a building versus renting.

“There are some specific buildings coming available here soon that might make some good apples-to-apples comparisons,” DeVleming said.

Still, the tone of the discussion was subdued. Denenny compared moving City Hall to a new space to shopping for a $1 million home for his family.

“It might be fun to do, but it’s disingenuous,” he said.