Moving proposal in council's hands

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Plans to move Fort Wayne's city operations out of their current homes are now officially in the hands of city council. The body accepted the introduction of the proposal during it's regular Tuesday night meeting.

Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry's wants to move the city police station on Creighton Avenue and city offices in the downtown City-County Building to the Renaissance Square Building just a block away at 200 East Berry Street.

Buying the Renaissance Square Building and turning it into a "one stop city hall" will save money, according to Fort Wayne Deputy Mayor Greg Purcell. "If people think about it in terms of renting an apartment versus homeownership, most folks make the choice for homeownership and they do it for sound economic reasons."

Purcell says the value of the building is down about fifty percent from several years ago, and now the city can buy the former department store for $7.3 million. Renovations would bring the total cost up to $14 .5 million.

"Why 7.3 million dollars?" asked Fort Wayne resident Jeff Pruitt at Tuesday's meeting. "Something's only worth what someone's willing to pay for it." Pruitt's address to the council members was the front end of public discussion on the matter.

Council members won't be weighing in officially until a formal vote, but republican Council President Tom Smith says if the vote were today, he'd vote against the proposal.

"I don't think it's necessary," said Smith, adding in the long run he thought it would end up being more costly to buy a new building than share the costs of the current building with the county.

Republican Councilwoman Liz Brown is anxiously waiting to see numbers from the city, that will back up it's claims of major savings. That said, though, Brown will put more than math into consideration before she votes on the proposal.

"I want to make sure the county is going to fill this space," said Brown, referring to the proposed absence of the city as a tenant in the county's City-County Building. "It's not our legal obligation, but I think it's a moral obligation because if not, then the taxpayers are going to pay for an empty building here."

In depth details into the plan will be in front of the council in two weeks. That's when city officials will make a formal presentation on the plan.

Smith said after that, he would call for a public hearing on the matter, so the taxpayers can weigh in on the issue. Stay tuned to NewsChannel 15 and wane.com. We'll have details into that public hearing when they're available.