BY KAREN BOSSICK
Could the Fifth Street Building in West Ketchum become the town’s new City Hall?
Ketchum’s City Council approved spending $25,000 to secure an option-to-buy the building Monday night.
The 11,246-square foot, three-story building at 191 W. 5th St. is being offered for a selling price of $3.1 million.
It would meet the city’s needs now for administrative offices and the police department into the future, said Mayor Neil Bradshaw.
“Given that the city has been trying to solve this facilities puzzle for a long time, I’m very encouraged by the emergence of this new opportunity,” Bradshaw said.
The building at Fifth Street and Second Avenue was built in 1996. It houses professional offices occupied by six tenants—primarily medical and law offices. The brick and stucco building has an elevator, handicap restroom and finished basement.
It is compliant with the federal Americans with Disability Act. One of Bradshaw’s key initiatives is bringing the City of Ketchum into compliance with the ADA. The current City Hall does not provide access for wheelchairs in some spaces.
Bradshaw said the selling price is much less than the cost of purchasing real estate and undergoing new construction.
“We believe this can be done without burdening taxpayers and without going out for a bond or incurring debt,” he said.
Purchasing the option secures the right to purchase the building and allows time for the city to get community imput. Bradshaw said the city will undergo detailed due diligence on the building and compare it with other options as it seeks imput.
“There is plenty of study and consideration ahead—we’re just at the start of a thorough and thoughtful review process,” he added.
Voters turned down a $23.1-million general obligation bond that would have allowed the city to borrow funds to build a new police station, fire station and city hall in 2016.
The current City Halls occupies a 44-year-old former car showroom once owned by gambling magnate Bill Harrah.
The 15,304-square foot building, which houses 45 employees, is in a state of disrepair.
The police department floors, for instance, are covered with sheets of plywood while the ceilings above are falling apart. It has no outside ventilation, which leads to a high sick rate, according to Police Chief Dave Kassner.
Parts of floors abruptly rise four inches over the rest of the floor. And network cables drop from holes in the ceiling.