Mill Creek council directs staff to pursue master plan for Dobson-Remillard civic campus, plans for future City Hall relocation

The Mill Creek City Council on Tuesday directed city staff to pursue a detailed master plan for the Dobson‑Remillard Civic Center (DRCC) site that includes a multipurpose community facility and planning for the eventual relocation of City Hall to that campus.

Director Ryan presented three development concepts and recommended the DRCC civic campus approach, which would consolidate municipal services and public-facing community space on the DRCC site while preserving opportunities for third‑party partners. The council voted 6–1 to move forward with the option and to authorize staff to solicit a qualified consultant to complete schematic planning, permitting strategy and preliminary engineering.

Why it matters: The DRCC site has been the subject of study and debate for nearly two decades. The council’s direction starts a formal master‑planning process that will define the site program, scale and financing strategy. Planning also will inform the South Town Center redevelopment and the city’s use of existing assets.

What staff told council: Ryan summarized prior work — wetland delineation, needs assessments and economic analysis — and said the city has roughly $450,000 available to fund master planning activities. He presented three broad options: build a civic campus at DRCC (option 1), build only a multipurpose facility at DRCC while keeping City Hall downtown (option 2), or sell DRCC and redevelop City Hall in the South Town Center (option 3).

Ryan said the DRCC site totals about 18 acres but that only about 8.3 acres are developable after accounting for slopes and wetlands. His team provided preliminary valuations from an economic analysis: under current zoning the DRCC property’s lower-range market value was estimated at about $22.1 million; under an alternative zoning or higher-density scenario that estimate rose to roughly $30 million. He also presented order-of-magnitude cost ranges for civic facilities based on square-footage scenarios — estimates that will be refined during the master-planning process.

“We have about maybe $450,000 for master plan that we can use to complete this project,” Director Ryan said in his presentation. He told the council the scope to be advertised would include schematic site planning, preliminary engineering and a permitting strategy; he said the consultant selection could begin in August with the objective of beginning master‑planning work in the fall.

Council debate and decision: Council members voiced varied priorities — some stressed immediate community uses such as a multipurpose center and theater; others emphasized the long‑term value of holding city‑owned land for future revenue or development leverage. Several councilors said they want a phased approach: develop community-serving facilities first and preserve the option to consolidate City Hall at the site later.

After discussion, Councilor Cavalieri moved that staff prepare the RFQ and scope to pursue the DRCC civic campus (option 1) and explicitly include planning for a future City Hall relocation; a majority of councilors seconded and the motion passed 6–1.

Next steps and timeline: Staff will issue an RFQ for master‑planning services under federal procurement guidelines in August or September. If a consultant is selected on schedule, schematic planning and community engagement would occur through winter and spring with the goal of completing a master plan next year. Staff plans to present financing and phasing options during that process and to return to the council with recommended next steps.

Ending: The council’s direction begins a formal planning phase to define program, costs and potential funding strategies for a civic campus at DRCC. The next public milestones will be the consultant selection and the first community‑engagement sessions planned once a scope is finalized.