By Scott Sullivan
Editor
You can’t beat city hall, but in Douglas you might buy it. The police station too.
City council was slated Tuesday, Jan. 21 to hold a groundbreaking for its soon-to-be new city hall/police station at 415 Wiley Road, then reconvene for a meeting in its current hall, 86 W. Center St.
The night’s agenda included resolutions to sell that structure, the 1875-built former Dutchers’ Lodge, and nearby 47 W. Center St. c police station.
City engineers in 2023 estimated the old hall needed $1.4 million in renovations to meet modern standards. The more recently built one-story brick police station has grown overcrowded and lacks garage space for cruisers and other vehicles.
Douglas Aug. 1, 2023 bought the 18,000-square foot Douglas Professiional Center — known locally as “the old hospital” — on the corner of Wiley and Blue Star Highway for $1.5 million, eyeing consolidating municipal services, including public works, on that 7.8-acre commercially-zoned site.
Council Feb. 6 last year — facing what some members called more-pressing cost priorities such as state-mandated waterline replacements — declined to hire Troy-based ABM Building Solutions for $7.8 million to design and build said project by a 6-1 vote.
In April it hired low bidder Carbon 6 Construction to design and build a somewhat scaled-back version for a then estimated $4 million.
On Dec. 2 council finalized issuing $3.23 million in capital improvement bonds for the 415 Wiley building renovations needed.
Mayor Cathy North claimed Douglas planned to pay off the bond without adding taxes for residents or businesses via sale of surplus city-owned properties, the soon to be ex-hall and -police station among them.
The current city hall has an estimated $460,000 value, the police station $310,000. Both would be listed commercially. Asking prices aren’t yet determined.
Sale of them might help pay off bonds but also leave them empty, returning nothing while still needing maintenance.
“This project,” North said on deciding to seek the bond, “will bring several benefits to the community, including a larger space at 415 Wiley Road for public meetings and events.
“Additionally, it will transform a long-vacant building into a functional and valuable city asset,” the mayor said..
Thursday, January 23, 2025
