Clear Lake City Council approves lease for temporary City Hall administrative offices during remodeling

CLEAR LAKE — The City Council in Clear Lake this week approved a short-term lease agreement with Pritchard’s Companies to relocate the administrative offices at City Hall during an upcoming remodeling project.

City Administrator Scott Flory says staff will start relocating into space in the former TQ Technologies suite at the Pritchard’s Innovation Center at One TeamQuest Way, with the goal of being fully operational there by early October. He says moving the administrative offices will provide an opportunity for the city to get a better bid on the project.  “The architect had given his opinion that by relocating out of the facilities here and not having to go through multiple sequencing and staging of the project for construction purposes, and also for just overall general safety that this would translate into a much more favorable bid situation for the city.”

Flory says some things like council meetings will continue to be held at City Hall during the remodeling process. “We’ll still be holding our council meetings here. Some of our bigger meetings will have to be held here, and we’ll still be accommodating the November 7th election that will take place here. By in large, our operations will be relocated.”

Mayor Nelson Crabb says the temporary space at the Pritchard’s Innovation Center will be very accessible to the public.   “One comment for those who are anxious in saying ‘oh I’ve got to find that place to begin with and I sure hope it’s easy access for me’…the fact that it’s on the west end of that building right off of 24th. It’s very easy, it’s wheelchair accessible, and they should have no qualms about it.”

The cost of the lease is $4000 a month and runs through June of next year.

The council at their next meeting on September 18th will set the date for the hearing and letting for the City Hall remodeling project.