New Springville city building has more space for police, court

SPRINGVILLE (Daily Herald) -- Springville turned 159 years old on Friday, and residents received a 70,000-square-foot birthday present.

The new Springville city building, located on the west side of Main Street at approximately 100 South, officially opened on Friday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The building cost $11.75 million -- an amount that includes the cost of landscaping, parking lots and the purchase and demolition of existing buildings -- and has 30,000 square feet of space on the main floor, 20,000 square feet on the upper floor and 20,000 square feet in the basement.

The building will house the city's planning, finance and information technology departments, along with administrative personnel, the Springville City Justice Court, the Springville City Council chambers and the Springville Police Station.

City offices will be closed on Monday as city employees move from the old building to the new one. They will reopen in the new building on Tuesday.

Springville City Attorney John Penrod said the new building was designed to be large enough to accommodate the city services and personnel needed when Springville achieves "buildout," or its largest potential population.

"It's been built for buildout in every department," Penrod said.

Ground was broken for the new building in May of 2008, and its red brick and curved window design mirrors that of the historic Reynolds Building located just to the south. Inside are tiled floors, dark wood accents and a large stained glass window above the main staircase.

On the main floor of the building's south side are the new city council chambers, which have technology including a drop-down screen and projector.

The podium has been designed with USB ports and a monitor inside so speakers can easily hook up their computers and refer to their computer images while presenting. Council members also will have monitors mounted in their desk so they have a clear view of the presentation.

"They tried as much as possible to accommodate the technologies that are out there," Penrod said.

On the top floor of the south side are the administration offices. The mayor's office, which is located inside the building's highest tower, has an extremely high ceiling, and three long windows offer a beautiful view of the mountains.

Original Article

Housed in the building's north side are the police station and justice court. The new station, which occupies 26,000 square feet inside the new building, will be an enormous benefit to the police department, said Springville Police Chief Scott Finlayson.