Proposal #2 from a KCB resident
This was the simplest proposal that elevates the working floor to the currently required Base Flood Elevation.
The current city hall, no matter what "they" tell you, was never condemned. The pilings and grade beams and floors and walls were inspected by an engineer and by a respected builder and found to be just fine.
A long time KCB resident suggested "blowing the roof off" the current building, adding pilings and columns as needed, and simply building a new office floor above the base flood elevation. (It's not a new idea--another KCB resident is doing the same thing to a house in the city although the authorities are fighting that project tooth and nail.) The rendering on this page shows how well that would fit with the current architecture of the city. The building just gets "a little bit higher." Because there's no gun tower, this proposal was a non-starter.
The current city hall has a footprint of about 137' x 50' (measured on Google Earth, not surveyed) or about 6,350 s.f. on the ground floor plus the second floor Building Department. Lifting the roof would preserve the post office space, retain the 2,500 s.f., high-ceilinged Marble Hall and allow for up to 7,700 s.f. of flood-proofed office space on two floors. That 10,200 s.f. is pretty much what the city claims it needs for the LIVS-designed City Hall Complex.Cheaper. Faster. More fitting than any other design suggested. Then-Mayor John DeNeale didn't even look at this one. Current Mayor Patti Trefrey probably has "never heard of it," either.
COMMENTARY "That looks nice but what about the costs of elevators and monthly service to them ?? Do we need that much space up?"
We agree the cost of a commercial elevator, both for the initial installation and for ongoing maintenance, is significant. That may be a reason to "vote against" most of the two-story designs.
"Second why all the costs if second floor is not needed and it would be less expensive to add on on one level, there is plenty of land to build additional one level building"
Land use is one design constraints for any of these structures. This design sits on the original footprint to preserve the parking lot and the entire "green space" of the city hall park.
"I'm no builder or engineer, but just from a common-sense viewpoint, this seems most feasible, least disruptive AND most in keeping with the current design."
"Rebuild the old structure
Simpliest way"