City commission to make move to new city hall

After concerns were raised by citizens and city staff, the Fort Scott City Commission will have a new home in the new City Hall building.

According to Fort Scott Assistant City Manager Susan Brown, the commission approved a change order during a special meeting Oct. 22 which changed the layout of the new City Hall location, 123 S. Main St., to include a City Commission Room which will double as the city court room.

"Some of the citizen's concerns were not having the commission room in the same building as us ... and it was for staff as well," Brown said. "We think this is a really good move."

To make the move possible, one group that was supposed to make the move would be left out.

Brown said the codes office was originally going to move over to the new location, but they will remain in the current City Hall to make room for the commission/court room.

With the codes office staying put, the city will still have a presence in Memorial Hall, 1 E. Third St.

"We will not be moving codes. They will stay in the building we are currently in," she said. "It still allows us to have a presence in this building."

Not only will the codes office not make the move, but they will also be under new direction.

According to Brown, the codes office reported to Fort Scott Economic Development Director Dale Bunn. Now the codes office will report to Fort Scott Fire Chief Paul Ballou.

"We feel like this is kind of a better fit since they do a lot of inspections so closely with the fire department," Brown said.

The cost of the change order involving the layout change is "well under" the expense of the originally proposed enclosed trash Dumpster, which was budgeted at $13,000.

In early September, the city commission voted to remove the enclosed Dumpster from the project which left the money available for this change order.

Construction at the new location has begun, according to Brown.

The contractor, Buildet Construction, of Nevada, Mo., has until Jan. 31, 2011, to complete the project. Brown said the city hopes to make the move in late December or early January.