MONROE — A $17 million remodel is pushing some Monroe city services to temporary locations.
Offices within Monroe’s City Hall campus will be temporarily relocated to 14841 179th Ave. SE, Suite 320, while municipal court will move to 769 Village Way, which is currently used by the city’s parks and recreation and public works departments.
The relocation will happen in phases.
Beginning July 31, Community Development offices — which include land use, building, permits and planning — will move to the temporary City Hall location on 179th Avenue.
On Aug. 7, all administrative offices will make the move, including the City Council offices and chambers, as well as offices for the mayor and the public records department.
The final City Hall move will come Aug. 14 as finance and utilities will become available at the temporary location that day. A week later, court services will begin at Village Way.
Remodeling is expected to take 18 to 24 months, according to the city.
“We are extremely proud that our careful and conscientious financial planning is funding the design and construction costs using existing revenue sources,” Mayor Geoffrey Thomas said in a press release.
Monroe’s master plan for upgrades to its municipal campus on West Main Street has been discussed since 2008. A 2019 study found it would be cheaper to remodel than to build a new campus.
“When that information was presented to the mayor and City Council, they took a look at the options and found that staying at the current campus and completing a remodel and expansion for the best value for the money,” said Jakeh Roberts, the city’s public works director. “Basically, it met all the needs of the city long term.”
The remodel includes upgrades for fire and earthquake safety, energy efficiency and the computer network. Plans call for more parking, new landscaping, pedestrian paths and new City Council chambers.
The remodel will be paid for with “councilmanic” bonds, which will be paid off over 35 years using revenue generated from real estate excise taxes on property sales within the city.
Councilmanic bonds can be issued “without a vote of the people,” the city’s Finance Director Becky Hasart said. There will be no increases to taxes associated with payment on the bonds, the city said.
The City Council approved the financing in March. In June, the city received a AA bond rating from Standard and Poor for the remodel funding. Councilmanic bonds are based on the assessed value of the city. Basically, it’s a credit score.
The bond rating Monroe received is one of best they could have gotten.
“We’re very proud of that,” Hasart said.
After the remodel, the municipal court will also be relocated in between the police station and City Hall. The police station, public works and parks and recreation are not moving.
Jordan Hansen: 425-339-3046; jordan.hansen@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @jordyhansen.
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