The discussion about replacing Grain Valley’s City Hall isn’t new—in fact it has been ongoing for several years with multiple boards. While not all have agreed on the location for the facility, nearly every Alderman and Mayor over the past decade has agreed: this building should not be occupied past 2031. With the time it takes to finish designing and building the new facilities, we will be approaching that time frame soon. (You can find these minutes on the project website). It is also important to recognize that City Hall is less than 30% of the project cost—the investment is primarily in a community center that will benefit everyone.

In 2021, the Board confirmed that staying in the current building was not sustainable, directing staff to move forward with planning for a new facility. The first part of this plan was to relocate the police station to its current location and then focus on City Hall, later. This wasn’t a sudden decision—it followed years of studies, public input, and comprehensive planning that identified the need to relocate City Hall to better serve the community. (Read about the comprehensive plan here).

Why Now?

• The building is failing – Leaks, plumbing issues, and mechanical failures have been and will continue to occur. The roof is reaching its end of life as it continually leaks into people’s offices. Past foundation issues allow water into the building. Minutes found from when City Hall was originally constructed lead us to believe that it was built with value-engineering in mind which can potentially lead to quality issues if cost savings were prioritized over long term value and function. Picture this: You are out in the field and come back to find water in your office-only to find out that a p-trap has rusted out from the bathroom upstairs, through your ceiling and onto your desk. These types of issues have happened multiple times at City Hall.
• Renovation is not a true solution – It would take significant renovations to make City Hall into a well-functioning space. The layout is inefficient, making it difficult for staff and residents to navigate. Currently, the Council Chambers cuts the building in half. There is no secure way to get from one side of the building to the other without going through the basement. Minimal upgrades were already estimated at $880,000+ four years ago, with deeper renovations reaching $1.4 million—and construction costs have only risen due to material price surges and supply chain challenges. We know several hundred thousand dollars have likely been added to that cost just by waiting on the project. The renovation costs do not include costly repairs that are upcoming to units like the HVAC, resurfacing of the entire parking lot, upgrading costly security measures that need to be in place and more. By the time you begin to add all the deficiencies together, it becomes more clear why it makes sense to build a newer, more efficient building than making a band-aid solution to the problem for future generations.
• Size and Efficiency of the Proposed Facility: The square footage of the building is slightly smaller than the current city hall. That is because its design is more efficient, and the architects have reduced underutilized space and prioritized the function of the building. The new building is one floor. This removes the need for two lobby areas, an elevator, stairwells, hallways, and separate break rooms and bathrooms. The circulation space has been thoroughly thought through in this design; the layout has been optimized by reducing unnecessary corridors in the building. Additionally, staff will have more shared space-currently there are multiple break areas, restrooms, etc. There are fewer individual offices and unusable space like the jail area has been removed. The entire design was thought through from a customer service perspective as well-everyone who enters the proposed City Hall will immediately know where to go and will be serviced from one window. This eliminates the need to make multiple stops to receive help. Additionally, being a small city many staff members serve multiple roles. While doing our best to use the space we currently have, teams have been split up and those who serve dual roles are not easily able to achieve this without being divided on which area of the building they are working from. The new floor plan allows us to have room (without expansion in the near future) for our growing needs while taking up a smaller footprint.
• Engineers have determined the structure cannot support upward expansion, meaning renovations would be temporary at best. Past officials have looked at moving the Council Chambers, adding walkways behind the Chambers and more in order to accommodate the use of both sides of the building in a secure fashion. The costs to move these things, relocate lobbies, elevators, stairwells etc. are significant and do not make fiscal sense as a long-term solution.
• The Cost of Maintaining an Inefficient Building- The new proposed facility is much more energy efficient and designed with efficiency in mind. For example, the current building has two mechanical system rooms in City Hall alone which both have to be maintained and replaced when they fail. Moving to a new facility will reduce the number of systems the city is keeping functioning. The new building also cuts out the need for an elevator, designed to be ADA compliant in all aspects and removing costly systems.
• Every long-term plan has pointed to relocation—this isn’t a newly introduced concept and was reaffirmed in the last Comprehensive Plan which did seek public input in a variety of manners including surveys, open houses, and online feedback. Additionally, in a survey conducted after the 2020 election voters were asked to comment on where the properties should be placed in the future. Nearly 40% of respondents stated they weren't sure where the facilities should be located, with the remaining voters split almost exactly evenly on leaving the facilities in their current location or moving them to the property. And while it is contested to some, our interchange has been developing rapidly, and the property city hall sits on would be one of the most suited in the future to bring in tax-generating revenue-this is important to bring down property taxes in the future. Larger cities with higher sales tax are often able to use that to offset property tax in addition to the actual sale of the land/building. The City also has, in the scheme of things, a very small investment in the property down south.

A Plan for the Future

Rather than investing a large sum of money into a band-aid solution, the new City Hall is designed to be efficient, flexible, and built for the next 20+ years. By the time factors such as the sale of the land, the future tax revenue, and all the repairs and renovation costs including parking lots and more were considered, it was determined by your elected officials that building a more efficient, healthy and safe environment for staff and residents was the right direction for the future.

Every delay only increases costs and puts a financial burden on future taxpayers. The proposed plan makes an investment in a City Hall that works for today and tomorrow.