Haltom City leaders banking on new city hall to boost future economic development
%20(1).jpg "Voters will decide if Haltom City needs a new city hall. If they approve, the building would be on Haltom Road, near the library.")
Officials want to build a new city hall that they hope will entice continued growth and development.
On Monday, council members voted 6-1 to call a $25 million bond election for May 7 to build a new city hall on Haltom Road, on land that the city already owns. Council member Charlie Roberts voted against calling the election.
City manager Rex Phelps said the proposed new city hall would be near the library, and is needed as the current building, built in 1957, is outdated.
A new city hall will help inspire new development and growth, he said.
“This council and staff want the best for this city,” he said. “We attracted job-creating industries here with distribution centers, and we have new residents coming in which served as a catalyst for the Marriott development to start along with restaurants and other businesses. People come to city hall for many services including getting permits, and submitting development plans.”
Restaurants, a Holiday Inn and two Marriott hotels are also coming to the Northern Cross district.
Because of the growth and development, Haltom City has lowered the tax rate over the years, and will not need to increase it to build a new city hall, Phelps said.
“We did not compete well in the past, and we did not have some of the choices and amenities that our citizens deserve,” he said.
In the past, Haltom City has “kicked the can down the road,” he said.
A 2013 needs assessment study found the current city hall building is no longer viable and does not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“It’s drab, it’s dreary. There are no windows in many of the interior offices,” Phelps said.
When the planning department meets with developers there isn’t room to spread out plans without moving people from their desks, he said.
Nothing has changed since the 2013 study other than the need has gotten more dire, he said.
The proposed plans for the new city hall building include incorporating Haltom City’s history with a clock tower, like the one that was part of the Haltom’s Jewelers building at Sixth and Main streets in downtown Fort Worth
Most council members supported the need for a new city hall, but Charlie Roberts, who voted against calling the bond election, said he is concerned that the city is ignoring other needs, such as repairing streets and putting sidewalks in areas with heavy traffic.
“If we were going to spend money, we should spend where it’s needed in a part of town that needs revitalization. The north is going to develop on its own, but the city should spend money on south and central so that the whole city can rise up,” he said.
Phelps pointed out that revitalization is taking place in the southern portion of the city.
Council member Marian Hilliard said she agreed with the need to call the bond election.
“We are not a little country bumpkin city sitting out here. We need to step up and look like what we really are,” she said.
This story was originally published February 18, 2022 at 5:20 AM.