Town hall set to move into MTC building

Moorcroft’s council has finally set a date to have the offices of clerk/treasurer, public works and police as well as the council chambers moved to their new secure facilities in the Moorcroft Town Center (MTC) before September, says Mayor Dick Claar.

This move has been discussed for a few years now with no actual plan in place to further the transition until this week. When the group set three town-based projects to the front of their to-do list at Saturday morning’s workshop, this move was put as a top priority.

With the first 1% sales tax return anticipated to arrive in May, the council plans to fund needed construction and security of the lateral wing east of the senior center to house the entire town hall. The existing building on the corner of Converse and Big Horn Avenue will be put up for sale, subsequently alleviating the town’s utility costs for two buildings.

The Public Works Department is tucked into the garage area at the existing building and the Moorcroft Police Department lacks room to accommodate the entire force at once. However, with plenty of room in the designated area of the MTC, there is ample space for each division to be accessible along one hall and a police headquarters with room for every officer at once.

The town records have long outgrown the small space in which it is currently housed. There is plenty of room in the new clerk’s office to contain the town’s paperwork for the foreseeable future.

As for security, Claar stated that, until the separate exterior door is installed, the two existing doors will have “triple locks on both.”

The council figures to relocate town hall for an initial investment of between $50,000 and $70,000 with the entire amount paid by the first installment of the sales tax return.

With air conditioning and heating recognized as the probably the highest expense to the move, the council is researching options, but a mini split with one large compressor and individual blower units is the idea right now. Later, Clerk Cheryl Schneider will seek funding for windows.

As MTC Committee members Dan Blakeman and Charlie Britton had brought to the council’s attention earlier, Councilman Ben Glenn answered, “I don’t see the MTC operating any smoother unless we move up there. I think 89% of all these issues will be solved by us moving up there.”

Claar expressed his pleasure with this first step toward a fully functioning town hall within the walls of the MTC.