New Murrieta City Hall to open Tuesday

By: NELSY RODRIGUEZ - Staff Writer
Workers spent Friday putting finishing touches on the new facility | Saturday, March 8, 2008 1:35 AM PST ∞

The city of Murrieta is on the move. Local moving company VBO Relo, is in the process of getting all the boxes transfered from the old city hall to the new location at One Town Square.
DAVID CARLSON Staff Photographer
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MURRIETA ---- The only official city business happening Friday was the tightening of loose screws.

City staff enjoyed a day off while the final touches were added to the interior of the new City Hall. On Monday, the staff will unpack their documents and supplies and organize their new desks and cubicles. The much anticipated building will open to the public Tuesday.

Contractors have spent the last couple months finishing the wiring and checking water lines on the 36,000-square-foot building.

On Friday, dust and the sound of drills filled the air that flowed through the open doors at the new City Hall building at 24601 Jefferson Avenue. Light from wall-length windows lent the building a warm, high-energy glow.

With no city staff on site, contractors, movers and cleaners worked steadily through the early afternoon sealing and fastening granite countertops, installing speakers, ceiling fixtures and windows.

Crates of documents were moved into the two-story building where desks, computers and filing cabinets had already taken their place in designated cubicles and offices. Paper name cards welcomed city staff to their personal space.

"It's going amazingly smooth," said Nancy Driggers, assistant to City Manager Rick Dudley, who was one of the only city staff members on site Friday. "It's making my job easy."

In addition to office space and conference rooms, the facility features glass walls in the lobby, a second floor with wide aisles between departments, partitioning walls and a sprawling balcony overlooking Town Square Park.

"I think when you go into this new City Hall it's going to look more business like," Councilman Gary Thomasian said after touring the facility Friday. "It's also going to take the city into the next chapter, the next book of the city's history."

The new building, at the southwest corner of Jefferson Avenue and Kalmia Street, had an ultimate price tag of about $13 million and is the last component of Town Square. The civic center there also includes the Murrieta Senior Center, the Murrieta Public Library and the Murrieta Police Station.

While the project has been long-awaited, it's also been plagued with controversy due to construction delays and an escalating price.

Originally, city officials anticipated the new City Hall would be complete by the summer of 2007 for a price of $9.5 million.

The original project manager backed out of the deal in summer of 2006, saying it would not be possible to build the facility for that price. That, in turn, led to delays.

After a new firm stepped in to manage construction, the council approved two additional budget increases that paid for beefed up security at the site, more storage space, technological equipment and furnishings for the nine offices, three conference rooms and a reception desk.

While some residents have questioned whether the new building will be too small, it's more than double the size of the previous facility, which is 14,000 square feet.

"I don't even know how to describe it," Driggers said of the overcrowding at the Beckman Court building where multiple employees would share one cubicle. "There was absolutely no additional space available."

Driggers walked among ladders holding men whose heads and hands were at work above ceiling panels, basking in the light pouring in from windows.

"Natural light makes it so much nicer," she said.

City Hall will remain closed on Monday as the staff unpacks and organize Monday in preparation of opening to the public on Tuesday.

Building inspectors, who currently rent space across from the old City Hall on Beckman Court, will move into that vacated building. The city's Community Services Department also will remain at its location at the Murrieta Community Center on Juniper Street.

The new space also includes city chambers wired with new voting systems and a large screen built into an awning that hangs over the dais, where presentations will be displayed. The chairs remained covered with plastic as a group of four men scraped away excess caulk from edges of the dais.

While the new City Hall will open to the public on Tuesday, no public meetings will occur in the new council chambers until the April 1 City Council meeting.

"We wanted the City Council meeting to be first," Councilman Doug McAllister said previously.

Contact staff writer Nelsy Rodriguez at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2626, or nrodriguez@californian.com.

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Pre-Registration Comments[-]Go to Top

LLB wrote on Mar 8, 2008 9:18 AM:Why not mention the names of the Architects and Contractors who were involved in a project that is so over budget and behind schedule? Who is responsible for these types of absurd cost over runs? Is anyone responsible?

Publius wrote on Mar 8, 2008 9:52 AM:I always knew there were some screws loose at Murrieta city hall.

Stephen wrote on Mar 8, 2008 4:41 PM:Is'nt great how we create these incredible buildings for government employees. Government employees are now becoming the elites. Was'nt that the way it was in the old Soviet Union?

Peter wrote on Mar 8, 2008 5:40 PM:Obviously Stephen has never been inside the old City Hall and seen the dangerous working conditions that employees had been subjected to. A private company would have been shut down long ago for the building and safety code violations found at every turn in the old place. And in case you don't understand what that means, Stephen, it means the citizens, like you and me, are on the hook for anything that happens to those people. When we say "I pay your salary", it also means "I pay your worker's compensation claims." The government employees aren't being treated like the elite with the construction of the new building, just treated like human beings that have a right to go to work in a building that didn't leak when it rained, cause respiratory illnesses from an aged HVAC system or get so stiffling hot in the summer that people were keeling over.

Total Cost? wrote on Mar 8, 2008 7:42 PM:$13 million for city. How much for the civic center? How much for the town square? No parking structure? Where will these folks park? Any improvements to the roads around the area? Any outdoor component like a green quad or park? That would have been nice too. Did they put the utilities under ground? Too bad the new city hall is still too small to house ALL the employees. Too bad they're leaving community services and inspectors behind. I'm glad that we are finally finishing a project that has been needed for years, but why didn't we build it big enough? Why didn't we plan ahead? We need a civic center we can be proud of! I know the answer! Because our council members are afraid of people like Stephen who is loud and stupid! These buildings and projects are for ALL OF MURRIETA, ALL RESIDENTS. We deserve a great building - for residents, visitors, and business owners. We are a good city, and we deserve a decent city hall! Stephen should move to Aguanga where his class envy mentality will be better suited.

Murrieta needs this! wrote on Mar 8, 2008 7:45 PM:And just like Temecula is doing their civic center the right way, so should Murrieta. Our city is a jewel and we need a show-stopper for a civic center. Something we can be proud of to draw more people to Historic Old Town. The fact that it was too small from the start is incredibly stupid.

Bam wrote on Mar 8, 2008 9:08 PM:If it were up to some of you, Murrieta City Hall would be a series of 1985 trailers on a dirt lot. Be proud of your city and your new city hall. Everything is expensive nowadays. Ya know, Romoland has no city hall. If you don't like it, there's a ton of manufactured homes, dirt roads, etc. there to fit your lifestyle.

FINALLY! wrote on Mar 9, 2008 7:41 PM:People are starting to speak up and support a project we can be proud of. Murrieta is a successful city, just like Temecula. We should have a fantastic civic center that we can be proud of. I think Temecula has the right attitude. Pride in your city and its facilities is a very positive thing. People will take care of the things they care about. The negative comments all seem to come from one or two people who want to complain about everything. Keep up the good work Murrieta city council!

Chris wrote on Mar 11, 2008 6:54 PM:I agree that this is something we can be proud of. Our city is really something to look at, all around here it shows how much Murrieta cares about its image. Those of us who live here want that. We want the look and operation of our city government to be something we can show off to our friends and relatives when they visit from out of town. Just drive the area around old town as well as Jefferson Avenue, and try to think of it from the perspective of a visitor. It's nice, don't you think?

scott wrote on Apr 30, 2008 11:03 PM:The contractors were not the problem, but he changed Items the city wanted that was diffrent from the initial plans and bid.
It is easy to point the finger at people or contractors but also look at the initial bid date and compare the prices at construction time and things do change. I am not saying there is not a problem with the goverment and thier willingness to spend our money, there should be checks and balances to all goverments and there contractors.

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