North Salt Lake breaks ground on new city hall

NORTH SALT LAKE — Flanked by a trackhoe, North Salt Lake officials broke ground on a 32,000-square-foot city hall, which they hope will be the last city hall for 50 years.

"Let's turn some dirt, guys," said Mayor Shanna Schaefermeyer.

Monday's event was historic for Schaefermeyer, who was on the North Salt Lake City Council in 1985 when the city population was 5,000. The city had just completed an addition to its current city hall, which the city has now outgrown. Another addition was completed in the mid-1990s.

After a hiatus from city government for a few years, Schaefermeyer is now the city's mayor and was one of the driving forces to get a new city hall built. It will be a building she will never use as an elected official because she has declined to run for re-election this year.

But in the meantime, Schaefermeyer has vowed to do everything she can to get Davis County to build a library branch on the location of the current city hall. Such a branch is on the county's long-range plan for library expansion.

It's all because North Salt Lake continues to grow. The population is now about 15,000, and city officials estimate 21,000 to 22,000 people will live in the city when it is built out. That means at least five more police officers and other city staff members will be needed to accommodate that growth.

The new city hall, which is expected to be completed in 12 to 15 months, is being built with that in mind, with larger police offices, a courtroom separate from the city council room and ADA accessibility.

For the past six years, the city has been putting money away to one day build a new building. And now that construction prices are low, the city is getting a completed project, which includes the building, parking lots and landscaping, for $5.1 million.

City officials hail the project as a good deal financially and a good deal for residents.

Architect Scott Wilkinson said the building, which is being built adjacent to the current city hall, will be identifiable, durable and efficient. And project manager Travis Davis, with Hughes General Contractors, which is managing the construction, said he plans to help the city stretch its saved-up dollars as far as possible.

E-MAIL: jdougherty@desnews.com