Shoshoni’s new Town Hall is on track to open by the end of this month, local officials said this week.
“We’re anticipating having our certificate of occupancy this week,” police chief Chris Konija told the Shoshoni Town Council during a regular meeting Tuesday.
Once the certificate is in hand, he said municipal departments will start moving into the new building in phases to avoid “disruption with city administration.”
The move will require Town Hall to be closed for two days, he added – likely Friday, Oct. 27, and Monday, Oct. 30.
“That would give enough time to, we hope, at least get the critical infrastructure that’s in here now moved over there and have it operational so we can open (for) public use Oct. 31,” Konija said. “(That’s) tentatively the plan.”
The new Town Hall is located in the former school administration building in the 300 block of Idaho Street.
Konija said the location will “provide for better access and parking” than the current Town Hall, which sits on the corner of a busy junction in town, making it “difficult to access due to traffic and lack of parking access.”
The new facility includes more than 5,000 square feet of space, Konija said, and it will be able to house all municipal departments, with the utility department, the police department, and the library in the lobby area, and administrative offices, conferences rooms and the council chambers/courtroom in the rear of the building.
The Wyoming Department of Homeland Security contributed funding to provide access-controlled doorways, ballistic-reinforced panels and windows, and video/audio security cameras in the lobby “to ensure the safety of personnel,” he said, and the council chambers/courtroom is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, “which greatly improved access from our current layout in the basement.”
“The library will consist of a reduced selection of books,” Konija said. “However, the introduction of a digital library has expanded the overall catalogue for books, movies, and other media, (and) hard copy books can still be selected and delivered within a week for those who still wish to read a hard copy.”
The library will also serve as a “technology center,” Konija said, offering access to computers, printers and other digital equipment for public use, and the police department will employ a secretary during normal business hours, “which will help to increase response to citizens who have a non-emergency question, instead of having to leave a message.”
For more information call the Town of Shoshoni at 876-2515.
