Chelan begins long-term discussion on future of City Hall, aging facilities

CHELAN — The Chelan City Council is beginning what is likely to be a years-long conversation about the future of City Hall and other aging city facilities, after a recent professional assessment concluded that several core buildings are nearing the end of their useful life.

“This is not something we would be jumping into in the next two years,” Chad Coltman told councilmembers in a presentation during a workshop discussion Tuesday night. “But a project of this magnitude takes time. Time to build funding strategies, time to build relationships, and time to make sure we’re not putting ourselves in a position where we’re forced into a decision by an emergency.”

The conversation stems from a facilities assessment conducted by Northwest Management & Engineering Company (NMEC), which evaluated City Hall, the library, the Kelly Allen Insurance Agency building, the golf course clubhouse, parks and public works buildings, and maintenance facilities. The study rated City Hall and the maintenance shop in poor condition, and identified the library and golf course facilities as having significant long-term concerns as well.

City Hall, which sits on Johnson Avenue in downtown Chelan, was flagged not only for aging infrastructure and code compliance issues, but also for simple space limitations.

“When we look 20 years out, we’re probably talking about adding around 20 staff members over that time,” Coltman said. “And we want to make sure that whatever we do next, we’re not building something that we outgrow in 10 years.”

The assessment looked at several broad options, including a major remodel and expansion of the existing building or construction of a new facility either on the current site or nearby. According to the study, a full remodel and expansion of the existing City Hall could cost roughly $15.9 million, while a new three-story facility that could also house the sheriff’s office would come in at about $17 million. A more modest remodel or smaller new building without the sheriff’s office would still fall in the $10–11 million range.

“There really isn’t a huge difference between new construction and renovating the current building,” Coltman said. “This building is so old and unsuitable for remodeling that you’re essentially taking everything down to the studs, replacing mechanical systems, plumbing, foundations, and that doesn’t include the cost of relocating staff during construction.”

Several councilmembers stressed that while the numbers were sobering, the city is still at the very beginning of thinking about what comes next.

Councilmember Brad Chitty said he was uncomfortable with the idea that the discussion might be framed as a simple choice between two paths.

“I come from a construction world,” Chitty said. “And when an engineer comes in and waves a finger and says, ‘These are your two options,’ that’s usually not the end of the story. I think we need to slow down and look at more ideas before we decide what direction we’re even going.”

Councilmember Mark Ericks said the city should also be asking broader questions about how residents interact with government in the first place.

“People from my generation, and the next, don’t interact with government the same way,” Ericks said. “Do citizens really need to come to City Hall for most things anymore? Or should we be thinking about something more distributed, more digital, more flexible? There are places that do things with kiosks now, or handle far more online. We should at least be talking about that.”

Several councilmembers also raised the possibility of consolidating multiple public services, such as city administration, the library, and potentially even the sheriff’s substation, into a shared civic facility.

Coltman noted that keeping a sheriff’s presence in Chelan is an important consideration.

“They’ve told us that if they didn’t have a location here, they probably wouldn’t have a location in town at all,” he said. “That affects response times and how safe people feel in their community.”

Rather than rushing toward a solution, the council expressed support for forming a small ad hoc committee made up of councilmembers, staff, and community members to spend the next few months exploring broader possibilities and bringing back recommendations.

“This is the time to think out of the box,” Coltman said. “Once these projects get on a trajectory, they go. And we want to make sure we’re on the right trajectory.”

Mayor Erin McCardle said waiting too long carries its own risks, pointing to the recent discovery of major water damage at the library on Emerson Street as an example of what can happen when problems reach a crisis point.

“It would be terrible to wait so long that we end up forced into action without the ability to pursue grants or outside funding,” McCardle said.

Funding will be a central part of the discussion going forward. Some state and federal programs offer matching grants for civic facilities, but those require years of planning and local money set aside in advance. Direct legislative appropriations are also possible, but typically require long-term relationship building and advocacy.

“This is a 30- to 50-year decision,” Coltman said. “We’re not planning for the next council term. We’re planning for the next generation.”

For now, no decisions have been made about location, design, or timing. What the council agreed on Tuesday was to begin the conversation deliberately and in public.

“It’s about affirming the will to do something,” Coltman said, “and then doing the work to figure out what that something should be.”

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media