Reprint from the Progress Times - February 22, 2008
©Progress Times 2008 - All Rights Reserved

Alton City Hall opens on Friday

 

By Kathy Olivarez

"We feel really privileged to have the new upgraded facilities in our new city hall building," said Alton City Manager Jorge Arcaute. "At the old city hall we had no private work space except my office where developers could come. There was no space to spread out their designs. Now we have conference rooms and a work area where developers can spread out their designs and meet with city planners to discuss them."

Arcaute was speaking of the new Alton municipal center located at 509 S. Alton Boulevard that will officially be opened with a ribbon cutting on Friday, February 22, at 4:30 p.m. The new facility is approximately five times the size of the facilities they had before. The entire building has 13,575 square feet. Of that, city hall has 4,800 square feet, the commissioners meeting room/municipal court has 3,890 square feet, and the police department has 4,885 square feet.

Entering the city hall building on the left, visitors are greeted by a reception area with a huge logo on the wall featuring Alton’s motto, "City of Alton on the Grow," with a large Texas in the center. On the left there is a meeting room that can be used for training city employees. Currently it is being used for city elections. To the right is an office for the Greater Alton Chamber of Commerce, which is manned by Baudelia Riojos.

In the interior is a large work area with cubicles for workers and special equipment. There is also an area for developers to spread out their maps and plans while consulting with the planning department.

There are nine offices in the city hall complex including a city manager’s office, an assistant city manager’s office for Steve Pena, and offices for the Finance Director Rosie Tello, and clerk, City Secretary Janie Gaytan, the Planning Director David De Leon and his assistant, Albert Maldonado, and the City Inspector Ray Rodriguez. There is also an office for the chamber of commerce in the lobby.

The middle unit of the building, referred to as municipal court at the entrance, has a large meeting room that seats 60 to 70 people. The council is seated at a large desk in front. There are television monitors set up for PowerPoint demonstrations. Arcaute said that the facility could be used for training seminars as well as council meetings. On Tuesdays it is used for municipal court.

Directly behind the room is a large conference room that also connects to Arcaute’s office. Council members can hold their executive sessions there and Arcaute can speak in private to developers about their plans. There is no other access to the room so the public cannot interrupt private meetings.

Outside the entrance to the large room, there are two offices related to the court. One is for the court clerk and the other is for the warrant officer. While the judge did not feel she needed an office, Arcaute said that another area might be converted to provide space for the judge.

Arcaute said the area where the land is located has about 40 acres for expansion of city facilities. He says that in addition to the new complex, he anticipates the city will build a new maintenance department next and later a new fire station.

"When Mile 5 Road is widened, the existing fire department will be right on the edge of the road. We need to think about moving it to a new location before that happens," said Arcaute.

He went on to add other facilities that could be added in the future might include a city library.

Arcaute also said that in the future Alton Boulevard (also Conway Avenue) is scheduled to be widened to three lanes. Right-of-way acquisition was slated to begin within two years. However, with the Texas Highway Department saying there are no funds for the proposed projects, he was unsure when the widening of the roads in Alton would be done.