- Artist rendering of the new city hall entrance. (Photo by JT Fey, Watertown Current)
- Artistic rendering inside of the new southern addition onto the old Wells Fargo builiding.
- The lobby of the old Wells Fargo building is still being renovated. (Photo by JT Fey, Watertown Current)
- Artist rendering of the completed city council chambers. (Photo by JT Fey, Watertown Current)
- A look into the new city council chambers. (Photo by JT Fey, Watertown Current)
- A diffierent look at the new city council chambers. (Photo by JT Fey, Watertown Current)
- Artist rendering of the outside of the new facilty, facing south.
- South entrance of the new city hall building. (Photo by JT Fey, Watertown Current)
It looks a bit rough right now. Chain-link fencing prevents entering the property. Windows are covered. The future parking lot is rough gravel and dirt. Inside, the walls show little except studs and insulation.
But a transformation is underway, and city officials say that by early May of next year Watertown’s new city hall will be in full bloom.
“When people come into the building, whether it’s staff or residents or businesses that are considering coming here, I hope that when they walk-in they feel a sense of confidence that what’s happening within those walls is good work on behalf of the community,” said Watertown City Manager Amanda Mack.
The task of moving city government from its current cramped facility a few dozen feet westward into the more spacious former Wells Fargo Bank building has not been easy.
The Wells Fargo building was purchased for $1.3 million in November 2020.
In July 2022 the Watertown City Council asked for bids on converting the former banking facility into city hall.
Architects and project managers estimated that $3,476,431 would provide the upgrade, but the only bidder, Gray Construction of Watertown, indicated it would need $5,845,000. Negotiations with Gray and attempts to alter the project to reduce costs did bear fruit.
“It was determined at that time that the sheer volume of things that had to be cut out of the project to meet the budget really diminished the integrity of the project,” said Mack. “The council decided to reject that bid and went down a path of pursuing some other options.”
One discussed option was adding a new city hall onto the planned street maintenance facility that will be constructed in northwest Watertown. Public sentiment was greatly in favor of keeping city hall downtown, however, and no other locations were seriously considered.
What changed was the construction market. Mack said city officials noted that other city projects saw more competitive bidding. In January 2024 the project was rebid, and this time 7 contractors got involved with Huff Construction of Aberdeen providing the low of $4,214,740.
Some criticism was leveled at the city for not “shopping local” after rejection of the Gray bid, but Heath VonEye, City of Watertown assistant city manager and public works director, pointed out that under state law the city was not obligated to accept the bid.
“With any bid, we’re bound to go with the low bidder unless it’s a non-performing contract, someone we’ve had issues with, non-competent contract for the score of work they’d be doing,” Von Eye said. “There are certain statutory reasons we can not go with the low bidder.”
Mack said the city is pleased with the Huff’s work and that the project is on schedule for completion during the first week of May, 2025. She also praised TSP for its design work on the project, which she didn’t label as ideal but more than satisfactory.
“I think with any renovation project, you are bound within the confines of the existing space,” she explained. “If we were going to build from scratch, would we have build it the same way? Maybe not. But it meets our needs. It allows for future growth. It provides a safe, healthy work environment. It allows for significantly improved public access, and safety of the staff and the public.”
The original building provides 8,967 square feet on the first floor, where almost all city offices and personnel will be located. The lower floor has 9,018 square feet. It will include a public meeting room, break room for city employees, a large space for information technology, storage, utilities and more.
New buildings include 3,259 sq. ft. for city council meetings and 1,830 sq. ft garage, located onto the former bank’s drive-through lanes. Although the public can easily access either floor of the main building and the council chambers, there will be a more defining separation of public space versus restricted employee space.
Both Mack and VonEye expect the spacious new building to have a positive effect on employees and visitors. VonEye questioned the sentiments that the current building was adequate.
“I think a lot of people would also agree on the side of the coin that no, this isn’t the kind of impression we want to give about the City of Watertown,” he said about the structure that has housed city hall for more than 50 years. “How we govern, how we operate, how we’re put together, how we carry out our business… I think this new building, the layout, the finishes are going to give a more accurate message to users of the facility of what Watertown is about.”
Mack noted that the largest gathering of city employees, 35, occurs at city hall at any given time during a work day, and how the new facility will help.
“Giving the employees the tools to allow them to do the job they were hired to do is so critical, and one of those tools is adequate workspace,” she said. “And an HVAC that works. Proximity to your peers, and allowing for more holistic and organic collaboration across divisions and departments, and new facility will really give us that.
“I’m excited about it. I’ve been part of another project in a previous community where we took a bank and turned it into a city hall. They’re unique spaces. And over there, the woodworking is beautiful.”
Will city government and a new building be a beautiful combination? In a year we might know.
(J.T. Fey is a freelance reporter employed by the Watertown Current.)