02/06/2008: "Ribbon Cut For New Administrative Building"

ig_CC_RibbonCutting-1 (66k image)
(County Council joins in for cemermonil ribbon cutting -we have no idea what the hats were for)

In early 2006 the Council made the decision to purchase the Carlson Building, and by late summer they voted to move the Council and admistrative offices into the new building

After 1.7 million to purchase, and nearly $800,000 in costs to re-model and develop office and meeting room space, Council Chair Howard Rosenfeld cut a red and gold ribbon Tuesday morning to officially open the building and the new high-tech hearing room in the County’s new legislative building

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The ceremony was delayed by the late arrival of the ferry carrying Council Member Alan Lichter from Orcas, which fit nicely with the first order of business for the Council, which was to receive input and criticism from citizens who crowded into the new room to complain about the Council’s removal of Alex MacLeod as the chair of the ferry advisory committee. (see related story below).

The new hearing room is equipped with state of the art video and audio display and recording capabilities. The equipment will provide a high quality video record of the Council proceedings, allow overflow crowds to view all debates and documents on monitors in nearby meeting rooms, and paves the way for teleconference style interaction with participants on different islands. The room also, for the first time in many years, provides the Council with a reliable place to meet – a home for the county governing body. In the past it was often forced to use community meeting rooms to make room for District and Superior Court Trials.

In officially declaring the hearing room open for the peoples’ business this morning, Council Chair Howie Rosenfeld singled out Dave Zeretske, who was the County’s project manager for the renovation and construction project, and praised him and the contractors for bringing the project in, “on time and on budget.”