City Hall to Be at Fire Dept.

The St. George City Council has approved an intergovernmental agreement leasing space for City Hall from the St. George Fire Department, 14100 Airline Highway in the new City of St. George. The lease is for 3,706 square feet of office space at an annual rate of $25.53 a square foot, or $7,887 a month. The lease is from

June 1, 2024 to Dec. 31, 2025.  

Councilman Richie Edmonds described the proposed lease as a great deal for the City of St. George.  It includes offices and meeting rooms.  Everything is set to get started, Richie said.

The lease includes all utilities such as water, sewer, electricity, gas, and telephone and amenities such as internet, cable, computer network, email, and all IT.

He praised St. George Fire Chief Gerald Tarleton for making such a generous offer to the city.

It is a far cry from recent estimates of building a new city hall in nearby cities such as Walker and Central where the actual or estimated costs have been in the $4 million to $6 million range.

During the public comment period, a person in the audience said the proposal should be evaluated by a real estate appraiser.  

Comments from the public indicated the actual lease itself was not properly advertised or made available to the public prior to the meeting.  

Edmonds, who made the motion to approve the lease, said, “I’ve read the lease.  I was not aware the public  didn’t see it.  If people want to review the lease, I have no problem with that.”

Edmonds’ motion to approve the lease passed 5-0.

Mayor Dustin Yates later apologized that some items on the agenda were not properly advertised and said the city’s new website would be up and running the next day.  He said he took full responsibility for any mistakes and promised proper public notice would be provided in the future.

The new website is stgeorgela.net.  As soon as possible, it will be changed to stgeorgela.gov, Mayor Yates said.

He said old items would be archived on the site and upcoming events will be available there.

The Mayor said many people have offered to help the new city by serving on boards and commissions or volunteering their time, such as for beautification.  He said the website will have a portal for citizens to go online and volunteer their services.

“Please go online and check off your interest in the ways to volunteer that are listed or perhaps you have some better ideas on how to help.  Please go online and give us your ideas.”

The Mayor said he is going on vacation, so for the next two weeks, call Councilmen with your questions.  “My number is not the only one you should have,” he laughed.