SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — Spokane Valley City Council met at CenterPlace Regional Event Center Tuesday night for a special meeting.
It's the first time for the new venue but will be far from the last, as council chambers at city hall are unusable for now. A new contractor is currently repairing 'faulty construction' causing that portion of the building to sink.
“Some things you wouldn’t typically expect from a brand new building," said Emily Estes-Cross, the city's public information officer.
In February, KREM 2 detailed the damage, like cracks in the walls and issues in the attic, cropping up inside the five year old building. Estes-Cross says the foundation will need to be repaired along with the wall.
The shared Great Room space will be set up and torn down for those livestreamed city meetings several times a month, Estes-Cross says.
“Yeah, this is exactly how it will be set up," Estes-Cross explained. "There will be occasions where we are setting it up and tearing it down right after or before the meetings."
Estes-Cross says the contractor is currently tearing down an exterior radius wall in council chambers.
“They’re going to replace that wall and then make additional repairs as necessary in the council chambers," she said.
The contractor will also keep an eye out for damage and necessary fixes elsewhere in the building. It's going to take time to fix.
“For probably the remainder of the year," Estes-Cross said of how long the meetings will be moved out of city hall.
While the rest of city hall is still open, some city business will call CenterPlace home for a while.
“We want to make sure the public knows that the opportunities to participate in city council and planning commission meetings hasn’t changed, just the venue has," Estes-Cross explained.
The City of Spokane Valley is suing the original contractor for reimbursement for the damages; a trial previously set for August has been continued, but Estes-Cross says it's uncertain when the trial will happen.
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