Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Work is underway to determine the feasibility of revamping Howell City Hall for better efficiencies.

Council has approved design engineering work to determine if the 2nd and 3rd floors could be relocated together on the 1st floor in the old bank area. The City was receiving over $100,000 in rent from Huntington Bank.

Since the bank moved out, the space has sat vacant for a number of months and Mayor Bob Ellis says they really haven’t had any interested tenants. He told WHMI their real estate agent has advised that it would be much easier to market space on the 2nd and 3rd floors so they’re now looking into the idea of moving staff offices and consolidating everything on the first floor.

Ellis said that would allow for more efficiency because all of the staff would be together and there would be less redundant equipment such as copiers and printers etc. He says that would then leave the 2nd and 3rd floor open to rent out, which could potentially bring in a couple hundred thousand dollars a year.

Ellis noted the cost of the move should eventually pay for itself because of more efficient use of the space.

Once the engineering and design work is done, the project would be put out to bid to see how much it would cost before potentially moving forward.

City Manager Erv Suida says if costs are favorable, they could be looking at a first-of-the-year move. He noted will be more convenient for residents and allow efficiencies with both floors in one location. Additionally, Suida said the City would be able to rent both floors for the additional income.