KIOWA, Okla. — The City of Kiowa has outgrown its very own city hall. In fact, the building it’s currently housed in is crumbling, with stones falling out of the exterior wall.
2 News Oklahoma’s Douglas Braff listened to city officials, who say the move to a new city hall is going to improve citizen services.
When asked how much they needed the new space, Jeriann Hasty and Leea Shows told 2 News, “Desperately.”
Kiowa’s new city hall is located just a block down the hill from the old one.
The old one occupies a former furniture store. Multiple city entities call the single building home: the City Council, police department, public works, and water department.
“We were really cramped and running out of space really quick,” said Leea Shows, who runs the water department and is the PWA clerk.
On March 1, city staff moved most agencies into the new one, which used to be daycare. Only the police department will remain in the old city hall.
City Councilman (Ward 4) Danny Drake told 2 News they’ve needed a new space for at least two and a half years. He said the new building will be easier for folks to get in and out of.
“The public can do a circle drive here,” he explained. “We're gonna do a payment out the window here that they can drive through, stop, make payment, kind of like you would at the bank.”
When we asked Hasty and Shows if they think this new city hall will help them better serve the public, Hasty, who serves as treasurer, said “definitely.”
As for how, Shows replied, “It's more accessible because over there they had several steps, high steps that they had to get up to get into the building. Where here they can come straight in the front door.”
Staff told us the new city hall will be up and running by Monday, March 3.
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