Rohnert Park weighing new city hall as part of downtown plan

Less than a decade after Rohnert Park opened an $8 million City Hall on Avram Avenue, city leaders are weighing whether to set aside millions more for developing a new government hub in a downtown that is still in the planning stages.

The proposal calls for setting aside an estimated $6 million from the sale of a 12-acre parcel the city owns in the area of a former stadium on the west side for the future development of a new City Hall.

Supporters say a more centralized government hub would benefit citizens by making it easier for them to do business with the city. But critics argue the money should be used for other priorities, including possibly paying down the city’s unfunded pension and retiree health obligations.

The City Council voted 3-2 on Sept. 8 in favor of a resolution that would set aside proceeds from the land sale toward another City Hall location. But a little more than a month after that decision, Mayor Amy Ahanotu received council approval last week to reconsider the resolution at the council’s Nov. 10 meeting.

It’s unclear what motivated the mayor’s request. Ahanotu, who did not respond Friday to messages seeking comment, originally voted in favor of the resolution.

Supporters of the City Hall proposal now are renewing their calls for the city to set aside that money.

Gerard Giudice, a city planning commissioner and co-owner of Sally Tomatoes, a restaurant, event center and catering company in SOMO Village, said it would be “foolish” not to use proceeds from the land sale to relocate City Hall.

Giudice is among those who view a centralized City Hall as among the vital components of a vibrant downtown. “It’s a significant focal gathering place,” he said.

The City Hall presumably would be located in the general area of new development planned near the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit Authority station at Rohnert Park Expressway, close to the city’s library and police department.

The city has a tentative agreement to sell the ?12-acre parcel at 5870 Labath Ave. near Costco on the city’s west side to a Southern California developer that plans to build a hotel with at least 125 rooms on the site. The $7.15 million deal is in escrow.

The city purchased the property in 1968 with $115,000 in sewer revenue bonds with the intention of developing a sewer treatment plant on the site. City staff has determined that those plans do not restrict proceeds from the sale being used specifically for the city’s sewer needs. The money can be used for any general fund purpose the City Council desires, according to the analysis.

Should the property sale go through, the city stands to reap an estimated $6 million once other financial obligations are paid off, including roughly $185,000 for principal and interest on the sewer bonds.

Councilman Jake Mackenzie, who voted against the resolution, said he’s not in favor of “locking up these proceeds in a box.”

Rather, he said the money should go toward “solving some of the city’s critical unfunded needs.”

The city for years sought to locate a City Hall adjacent to the library on Rohnert Park Expressway near State Farm Drive but instead settled on refurbishing a former health institute and massage school building on Avram Avenue for that purpose. The location is a little less than a mile away from the library site.

The current City Hall opened to the public in 2008 after a series of cost overruns. It was intended to serve the city’s growing population for at least 20 years.

You can reach Staff Writer Derek Moore at 521-5336 or derek.moore@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @deadlinederek.