Oak Park Heights weighs options for city hall's fate

A plan to upgrade the Oak Park Heights City Hall has sparked an outcry from some residents who say the cost is too high.

Kevin Simpson and his wife, Ann Simpson, are circulating a petition asking City Council members to limit spending on improvements to $2 million.

They're also pushing the council to renovate the existing building instead of constructing a new city hall.

City administrator Eric Johnson said the council has not decided yet how much to spend on the city hall makeover. Renovations to the current structure are estimated at $2 million, and the price tag for a new building is an estimated $7.5 million.

Built in the late 1960s, the current building is the main hub for government and community activities serving the city's 4,500 residents. It also houses public works equipment and supplies.

Over the past year, the City Council has been discussing the building's deteriorating condition.

Last spring, the council received a report from an architectural firm outlining the building's deficiencies, including code violations, Johnson said. The report also detailed cost estimates for recommended improvements.

In reviewing the renovation costs, Oak Park Heights leaders began to explore building a new city hall.

"This facility is dated, however functional," Johnson said. "As we look down the road to the future, at some point there are going to be some major costs for this facility. That is the struggle. Where is the best use of the dollars? That's what the council has been questioning."

Late last fall, the council agreed to include the city hall project in its five-year capital improvement plan.

As required by state law, the council also voted to set a maximum figure for a bond issuance to fund the makeover, Johnson said.

That amount was set at $7.5 million.

That $7.5 million figure is what gave Kevin Simpson sticker shock. He spoke out against the cost and against the idea of building a new city hall.

And last month, the Simpsons started knocking on their neighbors' doors and collecting signatures to push city leaders to limit spending to under $2 million.

"We're just trying to get people aware of what's going on, and saying, 'Hey, they can't just spend $7.5 million or more without considering the people,'" Kevin Simpson said.

So far, he said, more than 300 people have signed the petition. He says many of his neighbors told him they didn't even know that the council was discussing the issue.

Johnson said the city has worked hard to get the word out.

And Oak Park Heights city leaders are forming a citizens' advisory committee to help review data on renovation vs. new construction and offer a recommendation to the council.

The seven-member citizens' advisory committee will include city officials and citizens. Ann Simpson is among the handful of people who applied for one of the three citizen seats.

Kevin Simpson said he hopes the petition and the committee will give citizens more of a voice in the council's decision. "I expect them to listen to us and strongly consider our point of view," he said.