THE CURRENT IRON River City Hall at 106 W. Genesee St. The Iron River City Council has backed trying to purchase 801 W. Adams St. as a new City Hall to avoid costly repairs at the current site. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News photo)

IRON RIVER — Iron River City Council has accepted an offer in its pursuit to relocate City Hall to 801 W. Adams St., rather than make repairs to the building at 106 W. Genesee St.

The council held a special meeting Monday, the second in a week in regards to the potential move. City officials began considering the move last summer when the Adams Street property, the former Iron County Reporter newspaper building, came on the market. The property was originally listed for $300,000 and was recently listed at a reduced price of $199,000.

In addition to the purchase price, the council estimates the city would need to spend another $400,000 to renovate the Adams Street property.

In a July 2023 public hearing City Manager Rachel Andreski said that little had been done to maintain and upgrade the current City Hall and that the building’s two boilers and two rooftop air conditioners would need to be replaced. All told, about $1 million would be needed to get the Genesee Street building in shape, she said.

Additionally, a comparison of costs between the City Hall and Adams Street building showed a potential savings of $30,000 a year, Andreski said, adding that the current building was only one-third occupied.

A public hearing held Wednesday was lightly attended, but most of those present were opposed to the move.

After a closed session, the council voted to make an offer on the Adams St. property at $160,000. The owner of the property came back with a $170,000 counteroffer.

At a meeting Monday the council voted to accept the offer by a vote of 3-1 with council member Dennis Powell voting no and council member Ronjo Leonoff absent. Leonoff had previously voted no to making an offer on the property.

Powell said he would rather put the money into what the city had.

“(The Adams St. building) will have to be gutted right out, my concern is it is an old building put up in 1948 and there are a lot of issues we are going to run into,” Powell said. ” I hate to see the City Hall go, it has been there for so many years but you have to go along with the majority of the board.”

The city will now have 20 days to complete inspections and barring any problems would then take ownership of the Adams Street building. No timetable has been set for construction to begin or when the city would move in.

Jim Paul can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 229, or jpaul@ironmountaindailynews.com.