JACKSON OFFICIALS MOVE INTO NEW DIGS

JACKSON -- Both the old and new city halls in Jackson were a shambles Friday, as employees hauled box after box from one building to the other.

By 10:30 a.m., the old building on South High Street was pretty much empty. The city collector's office, the only one open during moving day, was the sole room with any semblance of order.

"It's a strange feeling," Collector Beverly Nelson said. "They even took our snacks!"

Nelson and her crew worked extended hours to collect the last of this year's incoming taxes, but all other offices closed down to move to the new building on Courthouse Square. All city offices will open there on Tuesday.

The new building, formerly Boatmen's Bank, is two stories tall with a basement. The offices are roomy and feature modern colors and furniture. The Board of Aldermen's chambers are large and comfortable, with a beautiful view of Jackson businesses and homes.

"It has been very hard working in a basement with no room," Deputy City Clerk Fay Reiminger said of the old building. "Up here, we have a lot of open space and room to grow."

In her 14 years working for the city, Reiminger had some experience making do with an old building and old furniture. She and other employees had to descend into below-ground-level offices to work. At one point, a door with some legs welded to it served as a work station in the collector's office, she said.

Deputy City Clerk LaDora Sides holds the record for longest time served in the basement city hall -- nearly 30 years. She said she had mixed feelings about Friday's move.

"I'm really happy to move space-wise, but after you have been someplace so long -- moving was a little emotional for me a few times," Sides said.

She remembered one furniture purchase in her many years with the city. It was about eight years ago, and she got a new desk. Most of the furnishings were from the 1960s and 1970s.

The desks and chairs in the new city hall were constructed recently by prisoners in the Missouri penitentiary system. They only make furniture for government offices and then sell it at 30 percent under average wholesale.

That's only one way the city saved taxpayers money while completing a needed move, Mayor Paul Sander said.

He was moved into his new, small office by Wednesday and spent Friday getting a few things in order.

"All city vehicles and personnel were used for the move," Sander said. "We didn't use taxpayer dollars to move anything. Some even got their families involved."

The building appraised at about $2 million after renovations, Sander said, although the building and renovations cost the city about $900,000. Furnishings were another $50,000.

"From the taxpayers' standpoint, it's an outstanding day," Sander said. "We got into this building for less than $1 million and it will last us 50 years."

The old city hall will be sold to the highest bidder at a public auction at 10 a.m. Friday. Jackson Public Library will move into the new building sometime in April, leaving the old building empty and ready for occupancy by its new owner.