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1. Why is this necessary?

When the Kaysville City Hall was built in 1985-1986, the population of Kaysville was between 10,000 – 13,000. A new building was needed as city administration had outgrown the 7,000 square foot building that fronts Main Street (the “Old Library”). The new Kaysville City Hall was 10,000 square feet – a modest improvement, but only designed to meet the immediate needs of the city.

As the population has grown to 31,000, city services have increased. Over the years, the administration has “made due,” undergoing several small remodels to make room for necessary staff space, resulting in diminished storage and meeting space. City Council Chambers were no longer able to be rented out when a small kitchen was removed to house the Building Department. Recently, even more space was carved out for office space, decreasing ability of residents to attend important meetings. Hallways are being used for storage. The HVAC system is original to the building, and has given out on hot summer days during large meetings. 

Seeing the handwriting on the wall, in 2015, the city council authorized a spatial needs assessment which evaluated the needs for every department and every building. (See the finalized report here.) To accommodate city services through build out – up to 45,000 residents – 20,000 square feet of space for offices, storage, and meeting space is recommended. 

2. How much is this going to cost? Are my taxes going to go up?

The estimated cost for the building remodel will be between $4M and $5M, but the true cost won’t be known until the final plan is developed. 

Will taxes go up? Not specifically for this project. However, Kaysville City Council has committed to holding a Truth in Taxation hearing every year, not only for transparency, but also to capture the increase of property values WITHOUT raising the property tax rate. The overall cost of Kaysville taxes may increase slightly year over year, but it will prevent the dramatic leaps that occur when Truth in Taxation is held only sporadically. 

Because of the Truth in Taxation process held last year, there was an increase of $200,000 in property taxes, or roughly the yearly payment for a $4M bond over 20 years. The committee is working hard to keep costs down while still creating a building to meet the needs of the city for the long term. 

3. Why isn't the city using the Old Library?

Originally, the Facilities Master Plan recommended that the Old Library be repurposed to house staff. Although adding more square footage was recommended, the council decided to opt for a less expensive remodel in February 2017. Unfortunately, it quickly became apparent that the building was not structurally sound (see structural engineer’s report here). 

In 2018, the city council once again took up the issue. After a lengthy public process, council pivoted away from investing money in the troubled building, and looked to add needed space at the current Kaysville City Hall. 

The Old Library is currently being evaluated by the Kaysville-Fruit Heights Museum Committee 501 c (3) as a potential home. There are no plans to tear it down.

4. Why can't city employees work from home?

Although Kaysville is becoming a digital society, much of the work done by city staff is one-on-one helping residents. That is not projected to change. 

Kaysville City runs lean. Staff are cross-trained to perform other tasks that might not necessarily be “their job.” Answering phones, moving equipment, preparing for events, cleaning up after events, meeting with residents – Kaysville employees do it all! 

Having staff on site is a better value for residents. 

5. Why don't we use space over at the police station?

When the Police Station was built in 2014, it was designed to meet the needs of the department through build out. There currently is excess capacity. 

In order to have a secure facility, anyone who passes back into the "Employee- Only" are is required to be fingerprinted. This does not lend itself to working with people one-on-one the same way the Building Department, the Community Development Department, and Billing do. 

It would be a short-term solution at best, and not convenient for residents. 

6. Will Citizens get to vote on this?

The authorized representatives for the citizens – the city council – will vote on this issue. To put it on the ballot would indicate that this is an optional remodel, however, it is necessary to the proper functioning of the city.