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Longview council approves $550,000 for City Hall remodel, $125,000 for resident survey
Summary
On Jan. 8, 2026, Longview City Council approved a $550,000 budget amendment for a City Hall remodel and a $125,000 not-to-exceed allocation for a citywide resident survey; both measures passed by voice vote with no opposition recorded.
Longview City Council on Jan. 8 approved two budget amendments designed to support city operations and planning: $550,000 to remodel City Hall and $125,000 to fund a comprehensive resident survey.
Roland McPhee, the city’s project lead on the remodel, told the council the $550,000 figure is a reduced scope from an earlier $700,000 plan. The work will add 15 offices, 10 new workstations, replace flooring, update HVAC and electrical systems and include $35,000 in incidentals. McPhee said staff minimized demolition and will use recently completed municipal annex space to reduce temporary relocation needs.
A councilmember moved the ordinance to amend the FY 2025–26 budget, another councilmember seconded, and the item was adopted by voice vote with no opposition recorded.
Mayor and council also approved a $125,000 not-to-exceed allocation to commission a statistically valid resident survey. Laura Hill, director of grants and human services, said the city’s last comprehensive survey that informed the comprehensive plan was from 2014 and described the funding as typical for comparable cities. Hill said staff expects the RFP process to return to council with consultant methodology; earlier surveys used stratified sampling to guarantee roughly 100 responses per council district for a ±5% confidence interval.
Council members stressed the importance of representative sampling across all districts and asked that the RFP and proposed methodology return to the dais for review before consultant selection. Hill said the RFP will be shaped with council input and will specify the sampling goals and district-level minimum responses.
Procedural notes: both budget items were introduced as ordinances and adopted by voice vote; roll-call tallies were not read into the record in the transcript, but the mayor called for 'aye' and no members voiced opposition.
Next steps: staff will prepare the RFP for the resident survey and return to council with consultant proposals and recommended survey instruments; the City Hall remodel will proceed to procurement and contracting according to the adopted budget and scope.
