City officials discussed the possibility of building a combined City Hall and school administration building at the regular June City Council meeting. School superintendent Rick Neal presented drawings to the Council.
"It's a unique idea that I think has tremendous potential," Mayor Jackie Crabtree said.
"Because the city and school and I work so closely together ... it's a unique idea to be able to walk down the hall to talk, unitedly, unified, especially when it deals with growth," Neal said.
Police Chief Ryan Walker said the building, which would house a courtroom, is further from school than the current court room downtown at City Hall. He said the current court room is 425 feet from the front door of the Intermediate School. The new court room would be 1,400 feet from school.
"This is just a little misdemeanor court," Sandy Button, court clerk and city clerk, said. "We've definitely outgrown it. We hold about 70 people in this room; it's usually packed.... what a unique idea to combine."
"This will be a professional building," Neal said. "The cost of sharing with the city is half the cost of what it would cost the school district. That's what makes it very attractive, very appealing." Neal said school officials work "really hard" to put money into building classrooms, not office space.
"This is a free-flowing document right now; we're try to stretch the dollar," Neal said, asking city officials for their input.
Councilman Lance Sanders said: "The cost savings is a big plus."
The mayor said he and Neal have also talked about sharing the cost of a receptionist.
In other business, the council:
• Approved rezoning 60 acres on the north side of Summit Meadows from R2 to Agricultural.
General News on 07/01/2015