First floor - city hall. Second floor - public safety functions.

Mexico City Council got a glimpse of what the abandoned Cancer Center building at Audrain Community Hospital could look like with new city hall and police and public safety services operations when illustrations were revealed from a feasibility study at the March 10 meeting.

But, upon seeing the drawings and hearing costs, some council members’ primary sentiment was that any planning for the Cancer Center building has to be put on hold until there’s more clarity with what happens to the rest of the campus, as far as the hospital’s participation or inclusion on the property. The agenda item was informational only and no decisions were made, as staff was looking for direction.

Katie Aholt of Navigate Building Solutions and Jonathan Emert of JEMA conducted a presentation that showed what the new building would look like.

The current city hall and public safety offices are located on 300 N. Coal St. City hall was established at the building in 1970.. City Manager Bruce Slagle said in a January Ledger story that the building has become outdated. The city, county and Audrain Community Hospital Foundation purchased the hospital building in July 2024, a previous Ledger story reported, and then Boone Health signed a letter of intent to establish a critical access hospital in October 2024, according to previous Ledger reporting. But the existing structure would not be used because of current codes and because it was too large, a Boone administrator said.

Slagle said at the March 10 meeting that the current building was built prior to 1910, although an exact date is unknown. The structure, with its current three stories and a basement, was by the mid-1900s transformed into an office building. After the city hall was established in the building in 1970, the fire station was added in 1976. Several city offices are housed in the building, which has more than 16,000 square feet, according to the presentation.

“We have about 70 employees that work in this facility,” Slagle said.

He outlined the deficiencies occurring in the building, such as electrical, plumbing and telecommunication connections. In the public safety wing, located in the basement, multiple officers have to share space and there’s no secure area for loading and unloading prisoners. There’s also inadequate space for meeting and training purposes and for evidence storage and so on, Slagle said.

He said the city purchased the entire city block across the street from city hall, and the final property purchase on that block was conducted in 2013 but because Covid and the hospital closing, it set the project back. 

“Unfortunately, during that time, the cost to construct has more than doubled to approximately $500 a square foot, therefore making the cost certainly for completing a full new structure to be very difficult to afford,” he said. 

He added that the consideration of the reuse of the Cancer Center and sharing the campus with the new hospital would be “far more affordable.”  

In the presentation, Aholt said the building has good instructure but “dated and aged and in need of replacement.” At the proposed site, there is “good infrastructure and good systems in place that are able to be reused and salvaged to a certain extent to support your project.”  

The targeted repurposed square footage for the site would be 33,526, Emert said, and that would accommodate current needs and future growth.

“So, we're not necessarily building this facility for today but we want to understand the needs are in the city in the future as well and determine that square footage,” he said. The existing building site has 23,000 square feet and there would be a 10,000 to 15,000 square feet added onto the facility and the majority of that addition would accommodate public safety functions, including a new apparatus bay for public safety functions.

Emert detailed how space would be used throughout the building. Aholt said the construction costs would be $8.5 million and that the estimate per square foot is $243, and that cost is reduced from the $500 per square foot cost in a new building. With all costs and services involved in the project, the total budget is $12.8 million.

Council members asked about the proposed reuse of the building and surroundings, such as street infrastructure. Slagle said a new building would cost $25 million, and that includes all costs. Boone Health has given its blessing for the project, for the city’s offices and public safety to be at the facility, Slagle said.

Council member Chris Williams said a potential cost of $15 million overall for the building and expenses would be a “hard number” to propose to the public in a town where a number of people are struggling financially.

“It’s a facility that’s going to be way bigger than what we need, and that might be good maybe down the road, but it’s going to be a hard sell,” Williams said.    

Slagle used $13 million as a price, and he said the city put money away for the project and that it could put down around $5 million in cash for the project and then could borrow $8 million. He said the use tax could pay off the loan, which could be paid off in 25 to 30 years, depending on interest. There would be no increase in property tax. 

Aholt told council the concept plan could be modified in accord with council wishes, and there  would be 24-26 months until the city staff could move into the building after the project is put in motion, which includes design, bidding and construction. 

During council comment, council member Chris Miller said he thought the project concept was “fantastic” and that “now if we can just figure out how to make it work, it would be a good deal.” Mayor Vicki Briggs said she hoped the project was “something that we can achieve.”