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Rehoboth plans for new city hall

Fate of nearby public property undecided
July 24, 2012

Hannibal Smith of "The A-Team" used to love it when a plan came together, and one is slowly coming together in Rehoboth Beach for a revamping of the City Hall campus.

The City Hall Master Plan Task Force has agreed on a concept plan for a multiphase rebuilding and reorganization of City Hall.

While the city has not committed to anything, the task force will work with engineers from EDiS Co. and architects from Salisbury-based Davis, Bowen and Friedel on further refining the concept.

The project would start with building an addition on the vacant land in front of the Rehoboth Avenue entrance to the police station that would eventually be occupied by the Rehoboth Beach Police Department.

The existing City Hall would then be demolished and temporary facilities would be built for the city administration and Alderman’s Court. A new building would be constructed at the old City Hall site that would house the administrative offices on one side and a processing center for the police department on the other.

Under this plan, the parking at the convention center would be switched, with the triangular lot on the west side of the building to be used by the police department and the east lot to be used by the public.

Public access to the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center would also be switched; instead of access from the west parking lot, the public would be able to access the convention center and city departments from the Rehoboth Avenue entrance. The police station would also have an attached sally port that will allow prisoners to be moved securely.

The cost of the project has been estimated to be between $13.5 million and $15.5 million, depending on what the city plans to do with the current building and licensing facility at 306 Rehoboth Ave.

City Manager Greg Ferrese has stated his desire to move all major city departments under one roof. He said having all departments together will decrease utility costs and improve communication.

Mayor Sam Cooper said, “If you don’t move that function up here now, and we have it provided for here, you probably never will.”

Commissioner Stan Mills said, “The concept of an integrated complex is very powerful.”

The land at 306 Rehoboth Ave. is owned by the city; building and licensing and information technology moved into the building in 2009.

The building was supposed to be Phase 1 in the city’s last attempt to upgrade its administrative facilities, proposed by Wilmington-based Tevebaugh Associates as a four-phase $30 million project. However, the city’s relationship with Tevebaugh soured due to personality conflicts and concerns about costs.

At the behest of the task force, Mike Wigley, architect for Davis, Bowen and Friedel, did an analysis of the 306 Rehoboth Ave. property and came up with different scenarios for how to handle the space.

Wigley said the property could be leased, sold or continue to be used as a city office space. He said selling the building could be sold for an estimated $1 million, although committee member Jim Horty speculated the building could be worth closer to $2 million

“Our opinion is, operationally, if you are looking for a fully integrated municipal complex, that it would favor the relocation of those (building and licensing and IT) to the City Hall complex,” Wigley said.

Wigley said if the city wanted to keep the building and use it as office space, the two best contenders for a move could be Alderman’s Court and Rehoboth Beach Main Street. Wigley suggested having the building at 306 Rehoboth Ave. appraised to get a better sense of what the value is.

Besides the fate of 306 Rehoboth Ave., the task force is also trying to figure out the parking situation at a revamped City Hall. Wigley said he thinks a mass of parking is needed for the convention center. While the concept agreed upon by the task force moves public parking to the east lot, Wigley said the potential is there for the city to build a parking garage.

Horty said a parking garage, which has been studied many times over the years, would cost an astronomical amount of money for something that would only be used a few weekends out of the year. He also said the proposed site on the east parking lot is a nightmare, access-wise.

“How much do the taxpayers of Rehoboth want to spend for something that would be used very little?” Horty said.

Cooper said while he is not in favor of a parking garage, he does not want to eliminate the possibility of one if it made sense for the city to do one.

While the task force has not gotten around to discussing how the city would pay for a City Hall rebuild, Cooper said it is important to at least have a plan in place for grants or even another federal stimulus.

“I think there’s not an unreasonable chance that there’s going to be some federal money. The way this economy is going, I don’t care who gets elected in November, I think they are going to be looking to stimulate things next year,” he said.

Wigley said the next round of plans would include a site plan and floor plan layouts, with cost estimates attached.

The task force will meet again at 9 a.m., Wednesday, Aug. 8.

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