Council not moving for now

Anyone having attended a meeting in the Council Chambers room at City Hall would notice it.

At the new Green River Police Department and Municipal Court building, visitors walking into the courtroom space would have noticed a design similar to how the city council’s current meeting space is set up.

A long table, with enough microphones and chairs to accommodate the mayor, city council members, city administrator and city attorney is present, along with space to accommodate dozens of people.

While speaking to seniors at Golden Hour Senior Center, Mayor Hank Castillon said the council hadn’t decided if they would move or not, saying the decision would come soon. However, he backtracked Tuesday, saying the council wouldn’t move because the room doesn’t have the ability to broadcast meetings on television, something he said the council views as an important need.

Castillon said the room design was selected while the building was being designed, saying the courtroom was built for multipurpose use. Castillon said the design was known throughout the course of the construction project.

However, one city councilman disagrees, saying he was surprised when he first looked at the room. Brett Stokes said he and a few other council members were unaware of how the courtroom was designed until they saw it first hand.

“I started counting microphones and chairs and said ‘hey, wait a minute,’” Stokes said.

Stokes said he believes the decision involving the courtroom came from Castillon and former city administrator Marty Black.

There is at least one council member who was aware of the courtroom design and alternate use.

“I know it was designed that way,” Councilman Mark Peterson said.

Peterson said the courtroom was discussed during the design phase, but said the council hadn’t discussed the idea of moving their meetings to the new building.

The recently-occupied building was the site of a large-scale move-in as the police department and court moved in late last month.

It was completed using reserves and a capital projects loan after funding from a 2012 tax bond failed with voters.