The Paducah City Commission is seeking input from the public about its preferences for a new or just improved city hall.
City spokesperson Pam Spencer says a canopy on city hall has drooped 9 inches, causing Paducah officials to both limit access to that area and consider either renovating the building or moving to a new one. But Spencer says the 1960s era building has more than just structural issues.
“Citizens walk in and they don’t really know where to go,” she said. “There’s not really a good reception area. Each department has its own little offices, has great windows but they don’t have a great reception area. So for customers, it’s not really an easy building to navigate.”
Spencer says although it’s only been a day since asking for the public’s input, she’s already heard from several Paducah residents.
“I’ve seen some people saying we need to renovate this building because of the, the history of this facility, and then I’ve seen others saying it’s not worth renovating this building. It’s better to probably go ahead and start from scratch and design a new facility,” she said. “So I’ve seen both ends of the spectrum, but that’s what we wanted. We wanted to get the public’s input. It’s going to be some hard choices that’s going to have to be made in the future.”
The city commission is seeking input on customer experience, functional building and work spaces, siting impacts, image and sustainability through Sept. 14.
Spencer says once officials gather those comments and City Manager Jeff Pedersen names a small working group for the project, then has to determine whether the city will renovate the facility or build a new one.
You can email comments to cityhallproject@paducahky.gov or post them on the project’s Facebook page.
