Oelwein Looking at Moving City Hall to Former Bank Building

The City of Oelwein continues to be on the move: literally.

In the last couple of years, the city police department has moved from their long-time location on the southwest side of town adjoining the city offices, to a new facility on the southeast.

Now, the Oelwein City Council is looking at moving city hall, east, about two blocks away, at the former Fidelity Bank building, located at the corner of Frederick and Charles.

The subject was brought up at the last council meeting, Monday night.

The building has a new owner: Doug Bryan. He has apparently offered to lease part of the building to the city, at very low rent.

At the moment, the current city building needs extensive repairs, renovation, and new heating/cooling system. The cost of the repairs are estimated to be anywhere from $325,000 to nearly a million dollars.

However, moving the city hall to the larger, newer building in the downtown location will also cost the city, and the money is not in the current budget.

The council decided to take a tour of the old bank building, possibly next Monday, July 20th. The next regular council meeting is set for July 27th.