The new building replaces a previous building on the same spot that was demolished due to age and mold. Since 2014, the city had been occupying nearby leased space.

“One thing we wanted to make sure was that city hall stayed on Main Street,” City Auditor Allyn Sveen said. “You need to keep your downtown alive.”

She said the new building offers more office space and a much larger council chambers as well as a separate conference room. The original city hall had included a machine shop, but the construction of a new public works building about three and half years ago relocated that shop.

The new city hall also includes far more technology, Sveen said. There are large monitor screens in the council chambers and conference room for presentations.

Jill Schramm/MDN A new council chambers in Stanley City Hall is more spacious than previous chambers and is equipped with the latest technology.

Police Chief Kris Halvorson also noted the more up-to-date technology available to his department in the new building, along with greater efficiencies. The building has a secure room for storing police evidence and provides the police department with four work stations and offender registration and fingerprinting stations. There currently are two officers, with a third being hired to fill a vacancy. The chief’s office is large enough to allow for small-group conferences.

“We have plenty of space,” Halvorson said. “It’s a lot more space than what we had before.”

The building includes a storage/copier room, employee break room and a reception area where the deputy auditor and tax assessor are situated. It has offices for the auditor, clerk of court and building inspector/planning administrator. An office also is available when needed by the city attorney and a spare office exists for future use.

The building cost is estimated at just under $3 million.