A vote of unanimous approval for what will be a nearly  $15.5 million project passed with relatively little discussion compared to different agenda item during the Columbia City Council meeting Monday night.

The city agreed to purchase a property and building belonging to DeRossett Investments LLC at 11800 Old Bluff Road just north of the 11 South Complex for $6.9 million.

The building will serve as the future site of Columbia City Hall.

Additional construction plans estimated at $8.5 million will relocate the headquarters of the Columbia Police Department into a planned addition to the existing building and house Columbia EMS operations  in a proposed new building on the property.

“This is a once-in-a-generation moment for Columbia,” Mayor Bob Hill said following Monday’s vote. “We’re not just purchasing and constructing a building, we’re shaping the future of our city.”

The 35,000 square-foot structure – referred to as “Building II” of the 11 South complex – was completed in 2021 with the goal of becoming “the main campus for DeRossett Investments’ medical canvassing division,” according to the 11 South website.

With the property being sold to Columbia, city leaders hope to transform it into a “municipal complex (which) will significantly improve public accessibility, modernize city operations and provide the space and tools needed to support Columbia’s continued growth and success,” Hill continued.

A major motivation for the move is the outdated public safety complex at 1020 N. Main Street which has been a topic of conversation beginning just a few  years after the CPD began using the former Luhr Bros., Inc. building on the site in 1988. 

How to fix the public safety complex became the subject of a needs assessment in 1991, followed by a similar study in 2006, though neither study resulted in major changes.

The topic resurfaced ahead of the 2021 mayoral election, in 2023 during Columbia’s “home rule” campaign and lastly in 2024 following the death of CPD officer Michael Conrad.

Hill reported in May 2024 the city was “close” to securing property for a new public safety complex, with the search officially coming to an end Monday night.

Inclusion of the Columbia Fire Department at the new property was conspicuous by its absence.

Columbia Fire Department Chief Mike Roediger told the Republic-Times on Tuesday that CFD operations will remain at 1020 N. Main Street for now.

Roediger also said the Columbia Fire Protection District – a separate taxing body from the City of Columbia – is continuing to look for property to build an updated fire station.

A post shared Tuesday on the Columbia Police Department’s Facebook page offered more clarity on the issue.

“While the city initially sought to collaborate with the Columbia Fire Protection District on a joint redevelopment of the existing public safety complex…the fire district ultimately chose to proceed independently,” the post stated.  “That decision, paired with land acquisition and construction estimates ranging from $19 million to $53 million for a dedicated public safety facility, prompted the city to evaluate vacant or underutilized properties already available within Columbia.”

Design work is “already underway” for the 11800 Old Bluff Road facility, with “construction expected to begin in the coming months,” according to the post.

Hill also noted the $15.5 million expansion will not raise Columbia residents’ property tax bills.

The city plans to “leverage capacity from existing bonds set to mature in the coming years” in order to eliminate a tax hike.

The city also plans to “market” the existing City Hall on Main Street and its public safety properties “which have a combined appraised value of nearly $3 million” to further reduce taxpayer impact.

Another item on Monday’s agenda involved discussion of a 1 percent grocery tax which needs to be approved by October to avoid the tax becoming a ballot measure.

The existing tax is set to expire at the beginning of 2026, with municipalities given the authority to re-authorize the tax following 2024 legislation which repealed the statewide tax.

Hill and aldermen expressed universal support for re-authorizing the tax, with Ward II Alderman Lauren Nobbe emphasizing the amount of money the tax generates from consumers who live outside of Columbia as another way to fund city projects without raising property taxes.

A vote on the grocery tax is expected during the Aug. 18 council meeting.

A separate discussion-only item about a special-use permit to install a ground-mounted solar energy system took up more time than the rest of the agenda items combined.

The proposed installation at Christ Community Lutheran Church, located on a 25-acre lot off Gall Road just south of Oerter Park, brought a number of nearby property owners and residents to speak against approving the permit.

Christ Community Pastor Jared Parker explained the roof-mounted solar plan would not be able to maximize the potential solar energy the way the proposed ground-mounted array could, adding the request was proposed simply as a cost-saving measure on the church’s electric bill.

This special use permit is also slated for an Aug. 18 vote.

One public comment which did not involve the solar permit was a plea by Eric Castelli of 379 Carr Creek Drive to have the city compel a nearby property owner to remove what Castelli described as “unpermitted drains” which have become a “significant contributor to flooding along Carr Creek Drive.”

Along with announcing a website dedicated to the issue, columbiadeservesbetter.com, he promised to return during the Nov. 3 council meeting with “implications for the city” should it fail to remedy the situation.

In other action, the council approved an amendment to the city’s floodplain ordinance. The move is required to update the city code to reflect new Federal Emergency Management Agency flood maps which become effective Aug. 19.

Aldermen also awarded a bid for the city’s 2025 Concrete Replacement Program to Henke Excavating, Inc. in the amount of $95,520.

The next meeting of the Columbia City Council will begin at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 18 at City Hall. Livestream and recordings of the meetings are available through the City of Columbia, IL – Government Facebook page.