The new Twisp civic building won’t be occupied until September, after exterior improvements are completed.
Town will finish exterior work first
The Town of Twisp’s move to its new civic building on Glover Street has now been postponed to Sept. 30, to allow time for completion of street, sidewalk and plaza work outside the building.
Mayor Soo Ing-Moody said at last week’s Town Council meeting said that it will be more cost-effective and efficient to delay the move until all the exterior work is completed.
The town had hoped to begin the move after an inspection on July 20, with an anticipated move-in date of Aug. 1. The move would have required town offices to be closed for about a week.
But after the July 20 inspection, concerns were raised about safe, convenient access to the new building while construction continued all around it. While the building’s interior is essentially ready for occupancy, Ing-Moody said, the plaza, landscaping and other street and sidewalk improvements around the building are not completed.
In the meantime, the town’s temporary offices on East Second Avenue will remain open for business. Ing-Moody said that a scheduled ribbon-cutting ceremony set for Oct. 7 is still on.
Public Works Director Andrew Denham said the town will be able to move some files, equipment and furniture into the building while construction continues.
Construction on the new building, which has been in the works for more than 10 years, began last year. The civic building will also serve as a regional communications center. It is built on the site of the old town hall, which was demolished.
In other business at last week’s council meeting, the council:
- approved an agreement with the state Department of Commerce for a Housing Action Plan Implementation grant of $25,000 to help fund a study of the area’s housing needs and potential strategies for meeting those needs. Winthrop has approved a similar $25,000 grant, and the two towns will pool their funds to hire a consultant to conduct the study.
- delayed adoption of the county’s Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan, which was recently approved by the county commissioners. The detailed plan, which is required by state law, addresses floods, earthquakes, landslides, climate change, severe weather, volcanoes, hazardous materials and pandemics in its 795 pages. It also includes a chapter on wildland fire, but that topic is treated in more detail in the Community Wildfire Protection Plan, which the county has just begun to update.
Okanogan County Emergency Manager Maurice Goodall told the council that adoption of the plan is necessary if the town hopes to apply for federal grants to mitigate damages caused by hazardous events. The town was involved in updating the plan, Goodall said.
Council member Hans Smith said he wanted to read the plan first, so action was delayed until a future council meeting.
- learned that the town is making progress on filling several vacant positions in various departments and some new employees are expected to start work this month.
