Old Smiley City Hall decision placed on hold

The possible razing of the old Smiley City Hall is on hold for at least five to six more months after action taken last month by the Smiley City Council.

Council members voted to delay a decision at their Aug. 17 special called meeting on whether to remodel or destroy the building, which sits in the 200 block of US 87 between Faires and Commerce streets.

Originally, the council was going to consider the issue at the regular Aug. 10 meeting, but Alderman Melva Childress asked for additional time so she could personally check out the condition of the building before making a decision on its fate.

Smiley City Hall moved to its current location inside what was previously the community center at 207 Steele St. last November.

The city has been remodeling the inside of the current City Hall location, which is home to municipal offices and the municipal courtroom/council room. The former city hall has been vacant since that time with concerns about whether the building can be rehabilitated and used for something else.

In other action, council members agreed to continue to allow water customers who live outside of the Smiley city limits to continue to have access to city water through the Peck water line, named such because it runs by the Peck farm. Each property owner wishing to use the water line must pay a $500 deposit to have access to the water, according to action taken by the council.

Council members also voted to move their regular council meeting date to the third Wednesday of the month from the third Thursday, with a start time of 5 p.m. instead of 6 p.m.

Utility department employee Joseph McGaha reported a city dump truck which had been stolen was located, but will need work, including the installation of a new ignition switch. McGaha said it was unknown whether the theft culprits have been caught by police and there is a list of numerous tools that were also stolen from the truck.

Council members also gave an organization occupying the City of Smiley’s storage units 10 working days (until Aug. 24, 2022) to move their items out of the building so the city could assume control of the property again.