Orting moves into new $6.5 million city hall
Orting’s municipal, police and court staff moved into a new City Hall on Oct. 5, one that’s already been paid off.
The building at 102 Bridge St. S. cost $6.5 million.
Mayor Josh Penner said the city paid for the move through the sale of an old building, a state grant and reserves.
“Six and a half million dollars is a lot of money for anybody,” he said. “We were able to do it debt free. The citizens of the future do not have the burden of a bond that they have to pay back over the next 30 or 50 years.”
From 7,000 square feet to 11,800 square feet, the new location allows more space for employees and the city’s 8,300 residents, Penner said.
There are two entrances: one for court and police and another for administration, where residents will see three front desks for permitting, parks and utilities payments.
The mayor said it’s been great to have all the city employees in the same building. There are conference rooms, break rooms, more than one bathroom and a public meeting space.
Municipal Court hearings will be held in the same room as City Council meetings.
Orting Municipal Court Judge John Curry is impressed with the court and council committee room. He sees it as an upgrade to the conference room in which he used to hold hearings.
“It’s more secure for the people, for the judge and for the officer,” Curry said.
For the 13-officer police department, there are three holding cells, an evidence room and office space.
In 2016, the Orting Fire District needed more space and wanted to purchase the Public Safety Building from the city. The sale was made a few years ago, and the city has been leasing a portion of the building on Washington Avenue for police and courts since.
Penner referred to the old City Hall as a “Frankenstein” because a jail cell, a fire bay and other extensions had been added on over the years.
The city has 38 employees, but the old building could fit about a dozen at a time in the building, city administrator Mark Bethune said. Staff were working from four buildings across the city. The new City Hall fits public works, administration, police and court staff in one facility.
Other than the lobby, the old building was not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Renovating the more than 100-year-old building to meet current standards would have cost about the same as building a new one, the mayor said.
Orting, with a budget of $3.6 million this year, has historically been fiscally conservative. Penner said there was apprehension about building a new City Hall in 2017, but City Council members got on board when they discovered there could be no public debt.
“If we could bring this facility in for cash on hand, that was the best thing that we could do for them, and we did it,” Penner said.
A citizen committee recommended that the city opt for a new facility downtown in 2016. In their report, committee members said they wanted to “do it right” and provide court, police and administrative services in one building.
Emergency preparedness was one of the biggest reasons to move, Penner said.
“The old facility, I could not tell you with a straight face that it would stand up to a modern earthquake,” he said. “It was not a good facility for providing refuge if we have prolonged power outages because there wasn’t a lot of access.”
The Orting area is one of the fastest growing in the state. Within the last year, property value has increased by 11 percent.
Penner noted the city could incorporate more of the surrounding area in the coming years, and it needed to have a building to support an increased population.
“This facility is meant to serve the citizens of Orting but in reality serves a much broader geography than just the city limits of Orting,” he said.
