West Fargo explores City Hall and police space needs

By Wendy Reuer | West Fargo Pioneer

WEST FARGO — A company commissioned by the city of West Fargo found the current City Hall and police headquarters building isn’t in failing shape, but it will have to be remodeled or a new building may be needed to accommodate additional staff.

The West Fargo City Commission approved adding a new City Hall into its Capital Improvement Plan earlier this year, currently penciled in for the year 2026.

Monday, July 18, RLE Architects Principal Kim Manuel and Project Manager Mark Thiede, returned a forensic study on the building at 800 4th Ave. E.

Manuel said the original building was built in 1974 as the city’s public library and in 1975 it became City Hall. There were additions to the building in 1984, 1990, 2005 and 2015.

Thiede said the study process involved observing the building aspects, documenting what was observed, rating the condition and then estimating probable costs.

“The site is one of the first sites we took a look at,” he said. “This site has some drainage issues, particularly to the southwest.”

Thiede said the building envelope, or walls were mostly OK, but the building could use some maintenance.

RLE gave the building’s mechanical system a C grade and the electrical system received a B grade, but Thiede noted the electrical system is at capacity.

Manuel said there are some spaces in the building that are underutilized and some spaces that could be repurposed.

Based on information from the city, Manuel said the City Hall staffing will grow by 40% through 2032 and the police department is going to grow by 20%. City Hall would need about 28% more space and the police department would need more than 50% more space.

“That equates to about 30,000 square feet between the two departments,” Manuel said.

RLE also noted the municipal court should have its own space and the commission chambers, which was added in 2015, is lacking in technology updates and has acoustic issues. They said the police department is “scrambling” for more space for storage and fitness.

Police Chief Denis Otterness said he currently does not have enough lockers for men and women staff.

“We’re having to come to you every year to increase our staffing members,” Otterness said. “Right now, the biggest issue is a lack of lockers for our staff.

We’re out of locker space for both our male and female staff.”

Otterness said additional space in the police headquarters is dedicated for training and the partnership the department is currently hosting with Lake Region Technical Academy.

“It’s going to be really important for our hiring and to continue to fill vacancies to continue that partnership with Lake Region,” Otterness said.

RLE staff recommend separating the municipal court from City Hall and said the court should probably stay with the police department at whatever location that would be.

The consultants also looked at site possibilities for new buildings. One option is to simply relocate the entire facility somewhere else.

Another alternative would be to relocate City Hall somewhere north, perhaps in the downtown district and relocate the police headquarters south of Interstate

94. Or, the city could leave the police headquarters where it is and relocate City Hall somewhere else.

The city could also remodel the current building to fit the needs of the city. RLE presented a possible design that would move the municipal court to its own space and enlarge the area for court. Nearby spaces would be used for the municipal judge and clerks. In the design, the current commission chambers would be remodeled to police lockers and space moved to another area.

“Your site would be fully developed by that point with little to no room for growth,” Thiede said.

The City Commission agreed to create an exploratory committee that will work with RLE to further study the space needs of the city and police, possibly for the next 50 years.

“We thought the police department would last us 40 years, it’s been seven,” City Administrator Tina Fisk said. “We all know that City Hall is tight but it’s a bigger concern when you look at the police department. In order to make intelligent decisions to move forward, we would like to set up an exploratory committee.”

The committee would include Assistant City Administrator Dustin Scott, Commissioners Brad Olson and Mandy George, who carries the secondary portfolio of police, along with city staff members who are not managers and police staff.

The committee is expected to meet starting Aug. 1 and to return results to the commission after Oct. 16.

“There would be no decisions made at all, if there is a decision to be made, it would be made by the commission,” Fisk said.

Readers can reach West Fargo editor Wendy Reuer at wreuer@forumcomm. com or 701-241-5530. Follow her on Twitter @ForumWendy.