SEQUIM — Sequim-area residents got a sneak peek of the newly constructed $14.5 million Civic Center during an open house.
City Council members, city staff and Sequim Police Chief Bill Dickinson were on hand to answer questions and direct visitors through the new facility at 152 W. Cedar St. on Friday.
“I think primarily, people are curious to see the new City Hall,” City Manager Steve Burkett said as construction crews worked steadily around him.
“Months ago, when we planned this, we thought it would be complete by now, but as you can see, it still has a little ways to go.”
The 33,000-square-foot Civic Center includes a police station as well as most other city departments under one roof, eliminating the need to rent space in area buildings scattered throughout Sequim.
“It will be so much easier for the public” to interact with city staffers, said Barbara Hanna, city communications and marketing director.
“Right now, if they need certain services, they have to move around town,” she said.
The Sequim Police Department has been in a cramped corner of the Sequim Village Shopping Center on West Washington Street, and the City Council has been meeting in the Transit Center, 190 W. Cedar St.
Altogether, there is room in the new Civic Center for an additional 20 employees if needed in the future.
City employees began moving furniture and equipment into the new building in mid-April. The cost of furniture and equipment to fill the new building is about $640,000.
May 18
Functional operation of the building as City Hall and the Police Department is expected to begin May 18.
“We still have a lot to do between now and then,” Hanna said.
The $466,982 entry plaza, a public square between the Civic Center building and North Sequim Avenue, is expected to be completed by June 1.
The plaza will feature trees, an open space with both paved and grassy areas, and a totem pole donated by the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe.
The plaza is expected to be used during festivals and other public events.
June 8 council meeting
The first City Council meeting in the new chambers is tentatively scheduled for June 8.
The building will be dedicated Saturday, June 13.
All city departments housed at the facility should be moved in by then, Burkett said.
Burkett said he is pleased the Civic Center is close to completion.
“Basically, I have been involved in this the whole six years I have been here, and it really goes back to 15 years ago, when people started planning for this and [to] get the other one replaced. The other one was 40 years old.”
The project began to move forward in 2012 with the purchase of the Serenity House properties adjacent to the former City Hall on Cedar Street.
The city contracted with the design build team of Lydig Construction and Integrus Architecture to finalize plans for the facility.
The city is paying for much of the project with a 30-year, $10,439,000 bond issued at a 4.53 percent interest rate.
The bonds will be repaid from several annual sources: $225,000 from a public safety tax approved by voters in 2012; $200,000 saved by eliminating the current rent for city office space, including the Sequim Village Shopping Center spaces; $75,000 from the real estate excise tax; and $160,000 from the city’s budget.
Additional funds to pay for construction include 20-year, $3.3 million water and sewer revenue bonds; a $60,000 Clallam Transit easement payment; $225,000 from the general fund for the Real Estate Excise Tax; $15,000 from interest earnings; and $350,000 from city savings established to pay for the project.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
