By Joe Bachman
Editor

STEVENS POINT — City officials mulled over the possibility of what a new city hall would look like on Thursday night.

Bray Associates Architects is a Sheboygan-based firm, and they made a presentation to council members on the various needs and conceptions of what a new city hall would look like. The city recently purchased three properties, two on Water St. and one on Arlington Place, that would serve as the future site of the new government building.

The reasons for this venture, aside from stepping away from a part-ownership with the county of the current city hall, range from the necessity for extra space, better functionality, and more parking. It is important to note that this was a presentation only, and that no official decision has been made on any conceptual designs, groundbreaking dates, funding, or construction details.

A preliminary conceptual design of what a new city hall could look like. (Photo: Bray Associates)

The meeting served as a way for city officials to give extended input into what the future facility may look like, and how it functions. Mayor Mike Wiza reminded council members that it is in the best interests of Stevens Point residents, that this project be taken on for all the right reasons.

“If it’s just having an updated building, I would say we’re doing this for the wrong reason,” said Wiza. “Because we can take a similar amount of money and update city hall — the downside is we’re still part-owners with the county. Think to yourself while you’re going through this process: ‘What is your goal? What are you hoping to achieve by building a new city hall? It should be more than just some new stone and glass.”

Bray Associates presented a word cloud on the key words that were seen the most in surveys and feedback regarding what a new city hall would look like. While words such as ‘welcoming, engaging, transparent, flexible, and efficient’ were common, ‘community’ was the largest, which is something most alders want for this new facility — a welcoming environment for residents.

The new city hall is proposed to sit on the corner of Water St. and Arlington Place, right next to the Green Circle Trail. (Photo: Google Maps)

“As we’ve said, we need more collaborative space in the departments, and for me, citizen access to those individual departments,” said Alder Cathy Dugan. “It’s also important to me from a design point-of-view to have a building that will be as structurally sound as the one we have now — we need a building that might be a little bit grand to show respect for government.”

“We need to have inter-departmental efficiencies — the whole point of this is to serve the public in an easy way.” said Alder Mary Kneebone.

Possible features could include added green-space to compliment the Wisconsin River nearby, a courtyard for employees and residents, and a nearby Riverfront Plaza. Initial conceptual designs see the building constructed out of natural stone, timber, and glass. Bray Associates also promise that the location of the facility will not interfere with the Green Circle Trail, and will in fact seek to enhance and utilize the trail as a part of the facility.

However, a bigger issue raised was that of parking, and while the site will offer approximately 66 parking spots, many of these would be across the street from the new city hall — leaving many to cross a sometimes busy Water St. Alder Jeremy Slowinski initially raised these concerns, as well as concerns over if there is enough room at the proposed location. Currently, the space available at the property equates to approximately 22,250 sq. feet, with a building footprint of 14,500 sq. feet.

Mayor Wiza confirmed that space shouldn’t be an issue, and according to Bray Associates Architect Michael Hacker, space will only serve as a small hurdle.

“It’s not in anyway a concern, it’s just a variable,” said Hacker. “The challenge is an opportunity, and what that looks like and how we react to it will be woven into the end solution. We’re confident that the site has many great attributes to it — the connection to the river, the bike trail — so many components that will make this project really phenomenal.”