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www.mybaycity.com December 23, 2013
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A father and son explore the main stairway of the newly renovated City Hall.
(MyBayCity Photo by Dave Rogers)

CITY HALL SHINES: Renovated Historic Structure Open House Set Jan. 27

Offices Relocated in Building Damaged by Fire, Water Three Years Ago

December 23, 2013       Leave a Comment
By: Dave Rogers

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An official ribbon cutting ceremony of the renovated 117-year-old City Hall in Bay City will be held on January 27 at 6 pm., coinciding with a Town Hall meeting.

The project cost an estimated $10 million, funded by $7 million in insurance and a bond and $1.6 million in state historic tax credit funds for the remainder.

Was it worth it? An online poll taken by the Bay City Times found readers by a 54-46 percent ratio, with 205 persons voting, saying "no," the money could have been spent better elsewhere.

On Oct. 12, 2010, a worker grinding bolts during a re-roofing caused sparks that set fire to the building's attic. Seventeen fire-suppression sprinklers flooded the building and destroyed plaster and damaged wood and metal installed when the building was constructed 1894-1897.

It took restoration experts from Servpro of Zilwaukee five months to dry out the concrete and stone walls of the building, according to acting City Manager Dana Muscott.


Skylights flood the open spaces with natural light.
Photo by Dave Rogers
© MyBayCity.com

Citizens examines commission meeting room where vital decisions will be pondered.
Photo by Dave Rogers
© MyBayCity.com

South entrance off Tenth Street is gateway to a sparkling, timeless building, even though it is more than a century old
Photo by Dave Rogers
© MyBayCity.com


Repairs were delayed when the city and its insurance provider, Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority, did not agree on the electrical code to be used for repairs.

Muscott said the city wanted a standard that about doubled the estimated $400,000 cost of that aspect of the project. The dispute delayed the project by a year, but the city eventually won and the higher code was used.

Beginning at noon on January 27th, guided City Hall tours will be conducted for interested persons. Contact the City Clerk's office for city hall tours at 989-894-8170.

When City Hall opened for business on Friday, December 13th, two days after the scheduled opening -- visitors found some offices have been relocated.

On the 1st floor: The Treasurer and Accounts Receivable offices have been combined. The law offices of Allsopp Wackerly will remain in their original location.

On the 2nd floor: Economic Development offices, Building Code Enforcement, and Neighborhood Services (formerly Planning and CDBG staff) are now on the 2nd floor.

The Assessing office remains on the 2nd floor but is on the opposite side of the building. The Purchasing Office will be housed within the Clerk's office, which remains in the same location.

On the 3rd floor: City Manager's office, Human Resources, Payroll, and Accounting/Fiscal Services.

There will be no offices housed on the 4th floor at this time.

Commission meetings will continue to be held at Pere Marquette Depot.

"This landmark has endured as Bay City's crowning jewel," wrote historian Marv Kusmierz in his Bay-Journal.com website.

"The leaders who planned and built this large majestic structure believed the city was destined to become a community of over 100,000 citizens. Their expectations were based on sound reasoning at the time -- the population of the city had grown from village of about 1,600 in 1860 to a city with over 35,000 in only three decades. (West Bay City was still a separate community at this time -- the two didn't merge until 1905.)"

Leverett A. Pratt and Walter Koeppe, a local architectural firm, designed the building. Their work included several church buildings and the Sage Library. Pratt initially started in the business in 1872 and Koeppe partnered with him in 1880.
,br> Henry Weber and Christopher Kircher, local contractors, erected the building. Other contractors included the Bay City Stone Company (sandstone), John H. Holzes (mason work), Valley Stone Co. (foundation), Tennant and Bate (carved stone), and Foole and Hart (tile roof).

During its construction, Robbie Waldo, a 12-year-old boy laborer wiring tiles fell about 75-feet from the roof and died from injuries. Some authors and storytellers contend that Robbie's ghost haunts City Hall because the city council did not adopt a child labor law until after his death.


Main stairwell with welcome sign provides access to all four floors, with decorative wrought-iron gleaming with new gilt paint to complement brass railings.
Photo by Dave Rogers
© MyBayCity.com

Workman gives finishing touches to City Commission chambers, now without tapestry that was damaged and has been given to the Bay County Historical Museum.
Photo by Dave Rogers
© MyBayCity.com

Fourth floor atrium shows architectural facets that make the City Hall building a showplace without parallel in the area.
Photo by Dave Rogers
© MyBayCity.com


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Dave Rogers

Dave Rogers is a former editorial writer for the Bay City Times and a widely read,
respected journalist/writer in and around Bay City.
(Contact Dave Via Email at carraroe@aol.com)

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