After more than two hours of verbal wrangling and five roll-call votes at the Monday meeting, the Maple Valley City Council voted 6-1 to move City Hall.

The decision means City Hall will make the move from its current location at Hagen Plaza, 22035 S.E. Wax Rd, to the Dynamic Computer Services Organization/Windermere building at 22017 S.E.Wax Rd. next to the Post Office.

Although the new site is about one block away, the road to the decision was strained and at times hostile.

Following the vote Mayor Laure Iddings said, “That was the most painful thing I’ve ever lived through in my life.”

Councilman David Pilgrim was the dissenting vote. He had said at the beginning of the debate, “We are running at a deficit and I can’t support moving because of additional cost.”

The dilemma for the Council was the city’s lease at Hagen Plaza had expired and the city was living on month-to-month time, which forced the council to make a decision.

City Manager David Johnston presented three options to the Council during the Aug. 17 meeting – staying at Hagen Plaza, or moving to either the DCS/Windermere or the Capstone Building at 22443 S.E. 240th St.

Johnston’s recommendation was to move City Hall to the DCS/Windermere site because it was able to accommodate the city offices or without remodeling and it was less expensive than Capstone.

Hagen Plaza was least expensive of the three, but could not accommodate the size and potential growth of the city’s staff.

Capstone offered a City Council chambers, but additional remodeling was needed.

Another issue was offering office space in City Hall to the Chamber of Commerce.

Each site had space, although the Windermere building initially did not until the owners said space could be set up in the lobby area.

Another issue weighing on the decision was the City Council plans to build City Hall on the 50-acre Legacy site located across from Rock Creek Elementary along SR 169.

The Council’s plan is to build City Hall on the site in the about 10 years.

With the three sites in front of them along with the side issues, the members began weighing the options.

The discussion began heating up when Councilwoman Linda Johnson said, “I feel I’m in the position, do I want to die by hanging or by a bullet. I feel we are not getting full information.”

Johnson went on to state putting a sprinkler system in Hagen Plaza was a “red herring.”

The issue of a sprinkler system had come up from staff as part of bringing the Hagen Plaza site up to current city code standards.

Johnson said, “I have heartburn from start to finish. Obviously the staff wants to move.”

Iddings said, “This issue was not started by direction of the Council. This was started by a staff (member) and a consultant.”

The mayor said the council did not “respect” the consultant.

“This was not the Council’s doing,” Iddings said. “I think this issue has been manipulated. Nobody had talked about our commitment to co-locate with the chamber, which is important to me.”

Iddings said she thought City Hall should stay at Hagen Plaza.

“I think we need to stay where we are for the shortest period of time until we get to the Legacy site,” Iddings said.

Councilman Noel Gerken said the talk of the Legacy site was the “mother of all red herrings. This Council has not been committed to the Legacy site for five years. I can’t stand it. I can’t stand the talk from our mayor about our staff. When we start blaming staff for stuff that has been going on for years it gets my hackles up.”

Iddings shot back stating, “My hackles are up, too…. It doesn’t sound like you’re (Gerken) standing behind the Legacy site.”

After more verbal arm wrestling the Council took its first vote on moving to the DCS/Windermere building.

Councilman Layne Barnes, Deputy Mayor Glenn Smith and Gerken voted yes and Jonas, Pilgrim and Johnson voted no.

Iddings was the last to vote on the roll call and broke the tie by voting no. The first vote to move to DCS/Windermere failed.

The next motion was to remain at Hagen Plaza. Gerken, Smith and Pilgrim voted yes and Jonas, Barnes and Johnson said no.

Iddings again broke the tie with a yes vote. The motion passed and it appeared City Hall would remain at Hagen Plaza.

However, Gerken said he wanted to “discuss my vote. What would have happened if one of us would have voted no.”

Christy Todd, the city attorney asked Gerken to explain.

Gerken said he was “confused. Can we do a hypothetical. If it had gone the other way, what would have happened?”

After some more confusion, Gerken made a motion to reconsider, which passed unanimously.

A second roll-call vote was taken on staying in Hagen Plaza and this time the motion failed with Gerken voting no.

The members then voted on moving to Capstone, which failed with Jonas, Johnson and Gerken voting yes and Barnes, Pilgrim and Smith no. Iddings was last to be called on and once again broke the tie by voting no and the motion failed.

The members were reminded by Todd the city was on a month-to-month lease at Hagen Plaza.

Jonas said, “we don’t leave here tonight until we have a decision to get this done.”

The Council then adjourned into an executive session for legal counsel.

Following the executive session Jonas said, “We are elected to be visionaries. I would like everyone to envision what Maple Valley will look like in 10 years.”

At this point in the meeting the mayor said, “For the sake of the team and moving forward, I’m willing to change my vote.”

The mayor’s compromise broke the logjam and set the city on the road to DCS/Windermere.