Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


The City of Howell debuted its new Council chambers to the community last night.

An open house and ribbon cutting to showcase the new Council chambers and Police Department facilities was held prior to Monday night’s Council meeting.

Council chambers were relocated and brought up from the basement to the first floor.

City Manager Erv Suida told WHMI what was temporary in 1994 is now a reality - jokingly adding they are finally “out of the cellar”. He said Council has been operating out of the basement of City Hall for three decades essentially and it’s a really nice remodel and great public space – noting the first floor used to house the Police Department, which is now located on the second floor.

Suida said they’ll also be able to hold elections in the new chambers – meaning improved accessibility and the ability to process voters through more efficiently. There were also additional efficiencies gained by combining the 2nd and 3rd floors together.

Suida said another nice improvement is that they also now have a full-complex generator and can use the building during power outages or extreme temperature weather as heating and cooling stations if needed.

Council members were also surprised Monday night during the unveiling. Members were earlier asked to provide three words they felt best described the community. Suida said they surprised Council with a community wall toward the back of Chambers that has pictures of the community and the words they chose – which he said “is a really nice rendition of what the community is all about”.

The Police Department has been operating out of its new floor since May. Chief Mike Dunn said it’s exciting and really nice, noting the officers are all enjoying having the extra space to be able to conduct business.

As for the future use for the basement, Suida said they are looking to make a training facility for the Police Department and are hoping to secure a grant for that project. He said that would then allow officers to stay trained and current locally, and not have to travel hours away or out of state.

Suida encouraged community members to stop by and check out all of the improvements at City Hall at their convenience.