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Frequently Asked Questions about City Hall
City of Hastings staff members have created this Frequently Asked Questions document to address many questions that have been raised about the potential construction of new city hall offices or renovation of the existing building at 220 N. Hastings Ave. This document will be updated as more questions arise.
Q: Why did city departments move out of the City Hall building at 220 N. Hastings Ave.?
A: In March 2023, City Administrator Shawn Metcalf made the decision to move employees out of City Hall due to ongoing environmental health concerns.
Q: Where did the departments previously located at 220 N. Hastings Ave. relocate?
A: Administration and finance employees moved to the Landmark Center at 2727 W. Second St., Suites No. 422 & 424, in the southeast corner of the building.
Development Services employees moved to the city-owned building at 3505 Yost Ave.
Q: Where will City Council and other meetings be held?
A: Until the renovation of the Hastings Municipal Airport terminal building at 3300 W. 12th St., is complete, meetings will be held at the Hastings Public Library second floor conference room at 314 N. Denver Ave. The move to the library conference room will beginning with the July 10 Hastings City Council meeting.
Q: Has the City Council decided which option to choose?
A: No, this topic will be discussed again at the July 17 work session with a decision to be made official at a later meeting. Council members can’t vote at worksessions.
Q: What are the options for City Hall moving forward?
A: Each option was graded based on what residents want. Ratings are based on a scale of 1-10, with 100 points possible, as scored by the City Hall Committee. An additional factor was added to give weight to the fact that many residents indicated their desire to have City Hall in the downtown or at least towards the center of town.
New Build (Rating 91, Grade A-), $8,858,170 (Previously $10,868,746)
The new build option is the recommendation. It provides the newest technology when it comes to energy efficiency, it meets current and future needs without much wasted space, council chambers would be ideal, the schedule to get this done could be about 6 months faster than renovation, reducing potential costs of construction. This option reduces concerns about the unknowns of renovation. In the end, the city ends up with a new building, which seems to be a better investment for the future
Renovation (Rating 88, Grade: B+), $8,461,139 (Previously $9,330,579)
Renovation is defined as: structural changes to the building (think Library renovation – removing everything down to the concrete). Renovation would include all the fixes in the repair category and the following: Sprinklers, mold in non-HVAC areas, HVAC/ductwork that have leaks and are in disrepair (ceiling/walls/floors), electrical wiring, building ventilation, insulation (we have very little in the current building), ADA bathrooms, furniture, compliance with all current codes, stairway being brought up to current fire code, etc.
North Denver (Rating 83, Grade: B-), $10,363,855 (Previously $9,094,046)
This option includes constructing offices and a small conference room in the space at North Denver Station, 1228 N. Denver Ave., currently occupied by Units 4 and 5. This option would have the lowest ongoing operation and maintenance costs.
Repair (Rating 60, Grade: F), $2 million
This option includes no structural changes but other work such as crack sealing, trim/finish, fire doors, removal of asbestos ceilings, radon ventilation, new sound system, new lighting, new roof, foundation work, and replacing all the windows.
Choosing the repair option would mean we can’t come into compliance with our own city codes, staff would not feel safe coming back, council chambers would remain the same, energy efficiency would be mediocre, we would not come into compliance with ADA (government entities are required to be in compliance by 2012), we can’t clean airducts fully due to their current condition, and mold would remain in areas where water has infiltrated throughout the building.
Q: How long will the project take to complete?
A: Once a decision is made, it is anticipated to take about six months to complete the design phase. Drawings presented so far are conceptual and do not include specifics. Construction on a new build is then anticipated to take about 18 months. Renovation in the space at North Denver Station, 1228 N. Denver Ave., currently occupied by Units 4 and 5 is anticipated to take about 24 months to complete. Projected schedules are dependent on material and contractor availability.
Q: What public feedback efforts did the city conduct?
A: The city held a pair of town hall meetings and tours of the building at 220 N. Hastings Ave., on March 4 and 6, which each drew about 40 people for a total of around 80 people.
The city then conducted a survey that was available online and in physical form.
Q: How many surveys were completed?
A: There were 596 surveys completed. Of that total, 66 were paper copies, which were available at the following locations:
Development Services office on the first floor of city hall at 220 N. Hastings Ave.
Administration office on the second floor of city hall at 220 N. Hastings Ave.
Hastings Public Library at 314 N. Denver Ave.
North Denver Station (Hastings Utilities office) at 1228 N. Denver Ave.
Hastings Parks and Recreation Department office at 2015 W. Third St.
Q: How many comments were there?
A: Including responses from all seven survey questions, there were 618 comments.
Q: What was the demographic breakdown of survey participants?
A: The results showed good participation across all age groups. Participants included 26.4% in the 35-49 age group, 28.76% in the 50-64 age group and 27.24% in the 65 and older age group.
Q: What measures have been taken to review the condition of the building at 220 N. Hastings Ave.?
A: Several studies were performed in the past several years to identify sources and levels of indoor air pollution. Indoor pollution concerns were noted as early as 2017 when an airborne microbial assessment was completed. The studies completed to date included asbestos, radon and mold. Sampling was conducted by staff and consultants. Staff has training in structural engineering. Contractors were also contacted to assist in the evaluation of specific building items such as the roof and exterior tuck point requirements. The HVAC system was evaluated by our mechanical engineering staff and obtained assistance from the HVAC contractor. Code compliance issues were noted by our building enforcement staff. Noted code issues were shared with project architect CMBA Architects of Grand Island to confirm the issues need to be addressed.
Q: How will the city prevent similar degradation of assets in the future?
A: There is funding in the 2023-2024 budget for one building maintenance manager, two additional full-time building maintenance technicians and one full-time fleet mechanic assistant.
Q: What is the municipal bond rate projected for when the bonds would be issued?
A: With the continually changing rate environment, it would not be prudent to try to project a rate when right now we don’t know how long it might be before we would need to secure funding.
Q: What would be the term of the bond rate?
A: Normally the bond issue would be for 15 years.
Q: What will be the evaluation process to determine how much of the project will be paid for through bonds and how much will be paid for through available funds?
A: The City of Hastings is in a great financial position to fund this project. The general fund has over $20 million in unrestricted cash. At the time we are looking to secure funding for the project, we would look at the cost to issue bonds and the interest rates available. We would also look at the unrestricted funds available in the general fund and other upcoming expenditures that might affect these reserves to determine if cash reserves could fund part of the project.
Q: Who picked the building committee and what are the qualifications of the members and why were they chosen?
A: City Administrator Shawn Metcalf is serving as chair of the City Hall Committee.
Other members, as selected by Mayor Corey Stutte, include the following:
Trent Kelly, Director of Technology and Operations of Hastings Public Schools
Chris Wissing, Vice President of Johnson Imperial Homes
Dave Rippe, CEO of Queen City Development
Lee Vrooman, City Director of Engineering
Marty Stange, City Environmental Director
Kim Jacobitz, City Clerk
From the Mayor:
“I asked these individuals to serve on the committee due to their deep experience with developing and redeveloping properties in our community.
Trent Kelly's experience redeveloping historic tax-payer-funded properties for Hastings Public Schools is invaluable in understanding the balance between needs and desires in public projects.
Chris Wissing brings with him Johnson Imperial's decades of experience in commercial and residential development and redevelopment in Hastings. His understanding of office buildings and material costs is key to understanding what is needed for staff.
Dave Rippe brings with him years of experience as a developer in Downtown Hastings. Dave has been instrumental in redeveloping historic structures and bringing dozens of residential and nonresidential spaces online into our community. Dave understands return on investment and how to evaluate the financial viability of projects.
Collectively, these experts and our experts on staff have done an outstanding job preparing options for City Council to act on. Again, I thank the committee for their commitment to Hastings and for lending their expertise and talent to Council and our community.”
Q: Why would this not need to go to a public vote?
A: Municipal Improvement Bonds are not required to go to a public vote, additionally the city is currently in a healthy financial position. Hastings has had in place for a long time a 1% we all pay when we patronize businesses in town. That 1% tax rate is separate from the city’s .5%, which is also paid by patrons for goods purchased, but approved by voters for specific uses. According to Neb. Rev. St. § 77-27,142, any incorporated municipality, including the City of Hastings, may issue bonds for any municipal purpose and pay the principal of and interest on any such bonds by pledging receipts from the tax already in place, in the City of Hastings that is the 1% sales tax.
Published Date: 06/26/2023