Richland’s aging City Hall reopens

Richland City Hall reopened late Monday morning after a maintenance issue forced officials to shut it down.

Spokeswoman Hollie Logan said managers opted to shutter City Hall when inside temperatures dipped into the low 50s.

The problem began late Friday morning when workers evacuated city hall after the smell of smoke wafted through the building. They returned about 15 minutes after the problem was traced to a failed part in the heating system. Logan said the city had to wait for the replacement part, which arrived Monday. It was installed immediately and the building warmed up in time for a noon opening.

“It’s up and running,” she said.

The closure affected the city’s finance, customer service and communications/marketing staff.

The heating system is original to City Hall, which was built in 1958. It has not been upgraded.

“We want to be frugal as we anticipate a new facility,” Logan said. The city expects to begin serious conversations in 2017 about constructing a new building on Swift Boulevard to consolidate offices currently housed in three separate locations.

This story was originally published January 25, 2016 at 9:09 AM with the headline "Richland’s aging City Hall reopens."