By Cliff Johnson & Mark W. Olson

For years, casual conversation in Carver has included speculation about where the future city hall will reside: downtown in a new or remodeled building; in the soon-to-be-abandoned water-treatment plant; or “up on the hill,” near the County Road 11 and Highway 212 intersection.

Suddenly, those casual conversations have become urgent, thanks to a proposed Carver County Community Development Agency development on County Road 11 and Ironwood Drive.

The CDA has invited the city of Carver to share the housing/office space with a new $2.3 million, 11,250-square-foot city hall.

The CDA project is on the fast track. Officials would like to break ground by this fall – a timetable that translates into spring architectural work and summer bids.

The council first reviewed a proposal at a Feb. 22 work session, and since then, has discussed it at a March 1 council meeting and a March 8 work session.

Councilors, CDA officials and city staff continue to study the issue. In upcoming weeks they’ll be crunching numbers and trying to get a handle on everything from soil borings to the exterior design of the building. Following the March 8 meeting, Mayor Jim Weygand estimated that a decision would be made between June and October.

The council will discuss the topic again at upcoming April 5 and 19 meetings. Meanwhile, the council is still in the midst of replacing the city administrator, who left at the end of January.

Mixed reaction

So far, reaction to the city hall proposal has been mixed. Councilors Cindy Monroe and Mike Webb are warm to the CDA partnership, as is Weygand, if it saves money. However, Mary Williamson and Carrie Newhouse have expressed reservations over the idea. Williamson would like to review other options, primarily closer to downtown, while Newhouse isn’t sure that springing a bill on taxpayers is prudent in this economy.

If the project cost $2.48 million, the owner of a $200,000 home would see a $117 annual tax hike, while the owner of a $300,000 home would see a $175.50 increase.The city has discussed locations for a new city hall since 2006. However, with the slow economy, discussions were put on hold – until the CDA proposal.

Officials say city hall is already cramped and worry that future growth will only complicated matters. From its present population of 3,200, the city is projected to grow to 17,080 residents by 2020; and 19,560 in 2030, according to the city’s 2030 Comprehensive Plan.

A new city hall had been programmed into the city’s financial management plan for the year 2015. “We don’t need a new city hall today, but we will in three to five years” said Weygand, at the Feb. 22 work session. “If we had this decision to make three years from now, it would be a no-brainer,” Weygand said, alluding to the savings of the CDA plan.

Cost

In a February report prepared by the city’s engineering consultant, probable costs were calculated for three different city hall sites. (See related graphic.)

The CDA plan is by far the cheapest of the proposals – $1.6 million less than remodeling the old school house to serve as a city hall and $2.7 million less than building city hall on the water treatment plant site. Ease and cost of future city hall expansion, as well as cost savings garnered by using space with the CDA, are also often cited as benefits.

However, Williamson and Newhouse voiced initial support for at least one other recently introduced option at the March 8 session – building city hall at Carver’s southeastern edge on the dormant River Bluff Estates development.

“Keeping city hall downtown is important to a lot of people and the downtown itself,” said Williamson. The River Bluff site, located off county roads 40 and 61, “gives us a funnel into downtown.”

Monroe described the location as the “furthest corner of your city.” The mayor agreed. Instead, Monroe advocated for “what’s going to be in the center the future town.”

The location off of Highway 212 is great, Williamson said, adding, “But related to city business, does city hall need to be a block away from Ruby Tuesdays or can it be in historic downtown?”

“My gut and my heart want it downtown,” Webb said. However, he felt the city had “exhausted every option downtown.” He also cited cost savings as a key reason to partner with the CDA.

By locating on the undeveloped western edge, the city is showing its support of growth, Weygand argued.

‘Abandonment’

Besides the series of council meetings, the proposal has also triggered in an avalanche of sidewalk and e-mail discussions among city residents.

The most-vocal opposition to the CDA project appears to be from proponents of a city hall in historic downtown Carver.

Local historian and Heritage Preservation Commission member John von Walter sent an e-mail to Weygand stating, “Moving city hall out of the Carver Historic District is not community development. It's community abandonment, the opposite of what both the Carver City Council and the CDA should be doing.

“There will be more taxes for everyone, but downtown’s commercial tax rate will be higher,” von Walter stated. “Then couple this by removing present and future expanded visitorship to downtown. Compound it more by removing every present and future city employee who now patronize downtown business at lunch, after work, after city council meetings, and to and from work. All will use some more future convenient gas station, coffee shop, and restaurant up top and closer to work.”

Carver resident Greg Osterdyk also has reservations about the proposal. “The city needs to determine what their long-term plan is for staffing before we can commit to a city hall,” he stated in an e-mail. “I don’t think there is a pressing business need for a new city hall until the population of Carver increases significantly. Who is to say we won’t have another opportunity similar to the CDA proposal in the future?” Osterdyk said.

“With the current economic conditions, I believe moving slower is better than saving money. Just because we can save $1 million doesn’t mean we need to spend $3 million,” he stated.

Vacancies

A decision to partner with CDA to build a new Carver City Hall would cause additional issues related to future use of vacated downtown city buildings.

A few alternative uses for a vacated downtown city hall, noted in a memo from City Planner Cindy Nash, include using it to house a parks and recreation facility, a satellite sheriff’s deputy office, a library, or selling it for commercial use.

Possible alternative uses for a vacated Church by the River, where council meetings are held, include using it as meeting room space for groups such as weddings; turning it into a local history museum or visitors bureau; or selling it to a business.

Carver City Hall site options

CDA proposal

What: City Hall would share a building with the Carver County Community Development Agency

Square feet: 11,260, plus 4,900 sq. ft. of shared space, including council chambers

Cost: $2.3 million

Old School House Site

What: Historic downtown schoolhouse has a full basement and three upper floors.

Square feet: 13,065

Cost: $3,895,048

Wastewater Treatment Plant Site

What: With new sewer lines leading to a Metropolitan Council sewage facility, the city’s treatment plant will be going away. City Hall could take its place.

Square feet: 14,300

Cost: $4,716,200

Existing Fire Station/Public Works

What: New two-story building would include city hall and council chambers, with room for a future addition of a public library.

Square feet: 14,300

Cost: $5,055,880

Source: City of Carver, Carver County Community Development Agency