Room to work: Scott City's city hall staff has moved into new office

Scott City's municipal government has a new home, one that city administrator Ron Eskew said presents a better aesthetic to the public and businesses considering a move to Scott City and maximizes the efficiency of work space.

Scott City's new city hall opened for business Tuesday, though some of the finishing touches are still being added. The building, 215 Chester St., was formerly owned by a local Jehovah's Witnesses group before it decided to build a new Kingdom Hall in Cape Girardeau.

The city purchased the building in July for $159,000. That deal, city leaders said, was a steal, estimating a commercial building of its size -- 3,600 square feet at the time of purchase -- could cost anywhere between $350,000 to $400,000.

City officials cited several reasons for the purchase. The city government had outgrown the old City Hall at 618 Main St. that it shared with the police department, fire department and municipal court. The move will also allow the installation of a special holding cell and an interrogation room at the police department, which has seen a heavily increased call load in recent years, and provide more space for the municipal court.

Using mostly donated labor from Mayor Tim Porch's contracting business, with some work bid out to other contractors, the city converted the former Kingdom Hall into a place for city business and meetings. Four hundred square feet of space was added where a drive-up awning used to be, which is now the public business area of the city hall. Another addition was a drive-up window for bill paying.

Eskew estimated about $30,000 was spent on labor and materials in the conversion.

The new city hall is full of small improvements. In the former location there was only one restroom for the public and city employees, and it was only accessible by going through the secure area behind the business counter. Now there are two restrooms -- one for each gender -- that are located in the public area.

Porch's office in the old building was little more than a storage closet. Now the mayor has an actual office where he can meet with people.

The city council chambers are now about twice the size they once were, with the ability to seat 100 people.