14 I NEWS I
FEBRUARY 3, 2010 WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
NEWSMAGAZINENETWORK.COM
Wildwood officials send City Hall proposal to voters in April By Julie Brown Patton The Wildwood City Council on Jan. 25 voted to place a proposed City Hall building project on the April 6 ballot. Voters will determine if the municipality will receive a new, permanent building. After more than 18 months of various evaluations from a citizens’ City Hall Steering Committee, a consortium of local architects, residents at multiple public engagement meetings, and the city’s Architectural Review Board, the City Council voted 10-2 to schedule the $8 million proposal for the upcoming election. Many of the group’s recent discussions included a concern about how many other topics will be included on the same municipal ballot, such as the Rockwood School District’s Proposition 5 bond issue; a St. Louis County transit sales tax measure to help fund the Metro public transportation system; and possibly a measure related to the St. Louis Special School District. The Wildwood City Hall proposition will read as follows: “Shall the Wildwood City Council, with no new or increased taxes levied, be authorized to expend City funds to construct, furnish and equip a new City Hall, including Wildwood County Police precinct facilities,
on land in Town Center owned by the City for an amount not to exceed Eight Million Dollars?” City officials have leased facilities since the city was incorporated in 1995. Wildwood City Administrator Dan Dubruiel said the project cost is expected to be paid for in a manner that will not require any new or increased taxes, with $5 million paid from city cash reserves and the remaining $3 million financed through long-term debt paid from existing city revenue sources. “There’s never a perfect time to put items on ballots, but we believe we should move forward while we have all of this positive momentum and all of these details researched by experts and helpful citizens,” said Dan Topik, a Wildwood resident who served on the City Hall Steering Committee. Topik said building a permanent structure for City Hall “makes economic sense all the way around.” Another Wildwood resident, Don Koslowski, said it is time to move forward. “Last time we talked about a new City Hall, we had to demand that the citizens of Wildwood be allowed to get involved,” Koslowski said. “That’s been done. Let’s
get on with it now. There’s no reason to procrastinate.” John Gragnani, another Wildwood resident who served on the City Hall Steering Committee, agreed. “This time, it was the citizens who asked for some of the items that led to increases in the overall costs,” Gragnani said. “After a year and a half of macerating, we should put it out there and let them vote. We can waste our money renting or invest it into a prideful place.” The Wildwood Architectural Review Board issued a report that indicates they did not believe the importance of a building such as a City Hall was shown in the current proposed design.
They commented that an “identifier” was needed on the building, because the proposed design “did not create the proper impression as a government building.” The report stated that they “did not dislike the building design in general, but rather thought it inappropriate for the end user as a City Hall and its location in Town Center.” Some representatives were quick to comment that residents who attended the public input sessions voiced that they did not want a standard, boxy type of City Hall. Dubruiel said a modest budget of $7,500 has been allocated for public information materials and activities regarding the proposed City Hall building initiative.
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