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Council debates three sites for new city hall, defers decision pending cost estimates
Summary
Councilors discussed three potential city hall sites — the current downtown parcel, an Aspen property and a River Park parcel — weighing disruption during construction, expansion potential and neighborhood resistance; staff will seek cost estimates and the council scheduled an executive-session discussion on offers.
The Brandon City Council spent significant time weighing three possible sites for a proposed new city hall, but stopped short of picking one, asking staff for cost estimates and scheduling an executive-session discussion on potential offers.
City staff member Brian told the council there are three contenders: the current downtown lot, an Aspen parcel and a new River Park site. He said the Aspen location has drawn neighborhood resistance, the current site is land‑locked and would be highly disruptive to employees during demolition and rebuild, and the River Park parcel offers fresh land and better long‑term expandability.
"We probably should start narrowing it down to a site so that project," Brian said, urging the council to pick a direction while noting the need to design footings if the council wanted an eventual second story. He also said some sites may require rezoning and that the police department building footprint is sized for minimal staff increase.
Council members traded questions about long‑term growth, curb cuts and whether the town would lose commercial acreage if the existing site were used. One member said the Aspen plan’s curb cut raised concerns about breaking rules the city applies to other property owners; another said fresh ground at River Park means fewer immediate neighbors and greater future expandability.
No formal vote was taken. The council agreed it needs cost information for the River Park option and that it would discuss potential offers in executive session later in the meeting.
Next steps: staff will return with cost estimates and zoning implications for each site, and the council moved to consider offers in executive session before making a public decision.
