Council to vote on new Mountain Brook City Hall proposal

MOUNTAIN BROOK MUNICIPAL COMPLEXProposed Mountain Brook municipal complex. SPECIAL
Mountain Brook city officials are expected to vote tonight on whether to approve construction for a long-discussed municipal complex.

City officials have spent the last week studying figures for a $15.3 million complex that would occupy the same space as 43-year-old City Hall on Church Street. The complex would have two buildings, underground parking and almost double the space of the existing building.

Council members two weeks ago said they wanted a few days to study if any changes could be made to reduce costs. At a work session earlier this month, they all praised the building's design while Finance Director Steve Boone said the building's estimated construction costs were affordable.

Plans call for a 53,000-square-foot building which would require about 16 months of construction time and temporary relocation of the administrative, police and fire offices.

Administration and fire department offices would occupy the front of one building of the new complex. On the building's first floor would be a larger council chamber, city permit and clerks offices, and space for the chamber of commerce. Administrative offices for the mayor and city manager, finance department and city planner would occupy the second floor.

The fire department would be housed separately in the rear of the building along Oak Street. Four vehicle bays would accommodate the department's two fire engines, rescue vehicle and command car. Dorms and training rooms would occupy the first floor, while fire administrative offices would be on the second.

The police department would have its own offices in a building across Tibbett Street in what is currently the police parking lot. The first floor would house the jail and administrative and dispatch offices, with the chief and investigators upstairs. A sally port in the rear of the building along Oak Street would allow police to transport prisoners to and from the jail.

Oak Street would also be the entrance for an underground parking deck to accommodate about 60 cars for city employees. This would free up parking places on the ground level around the complex for the surrounding businesses of Crestline Village.

Bill Williams, principal at Williams Blackstock Architects, said the current design reflects the simulated English Tudor character of the rest of the village by using brick, wood and stone. Certain features, such as the underground parking, are intended to keep the building on a small scale, in keeping with its surroundings.

"The big thing was to keep the streets the same as they are," Williams said. "I think it makes for a much more open, accessible city and cleans up a lot of the congestion in that area."

The current building, about 28,000 square feet, has needed repairs for some time due to structural deficiencies, mold in the fire department offices and cracks in the walls. City officials have discussed a new municipal complex for more than four years and have considered at least three different plans during that time.

Just for this building design alone, the city had to move eight utility lines, relocate a cell tower and purchase an adjoining lot to give the planned police building additional space.

"This project is so unique because of how many other things had to be solved before actually putting buildings on the property," Williams said. "It was an amazingly difficult combination of circumstances to have made it this far."
