Midvale mulls $13 million city hall campus

MIDVALE (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE) » Almost 70 years ago, it opened as the building to serve as the first Salt Lake County government library.

The building, 655 W. Center St., was later converted in 1977 into the current home of Midvale City Hall -- which underwent a $1 million renovation project seven years ago.

Now, city leaders are discussing plans to build a new $13 million City Hall campus that would include a fire station, Justice Court, community center and meetings rooms.

The two-story, multi-use building would be built on the 6-acre Dahl Field at 7500 South and 700 West.

A new City Hall is needed because Midvale is out of space, said City Manager Kane Loader. (The city almost doubled in size in 1998 when it annexed some 14,000 residents. Today, roughly 30,000 people call Midvale home, he said.)

"We're cramming people into offices," Loader said. "I can't add one more person here."

The problem? There's no money to build a new City Hall, Loader said. Working with such a tight budget, he said there's no way the city could afford such a project.

"The time is not right to raise taxes to build a building," Loader said.

Still, the City Council unanimously approved the Midvale facilities master plan last week in hopes of eventually making it a reality over the next few years, Loader said.

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