Spokane Valley City Council leaving City Hall for the rest of the year

The Spokane Valley City Council is leaving City Hall, probably for the rest of the year.

During a public meeting last week, Spokane Valley City Manager John Hohman said City Council meetings will move to CenterPlace Regional Event Center while construction crews demolish and replace the outer wall of the City Council chambers.

City staff began finding defects in City Hall in 2017, shortly after moving into the $14 million building. Most notably, the curved wall on City Hall’s northeast corner was sinking.

Spokane Valley staff say they’ve found numerous defects with their new headquarters and continue to find additional flaws.

The city in 2020 sued the companies that built City Hall, including Architects West, Meridian Construction, Allwest Testing & Engineering and Eight 31 Consulting, in an attempt to force those businesses to pay for repairs. Meridian Construction, the lead defendant, has denied many of Spokane Valley’s charges.

Meridian and Spokane Valley have failed to reach a settlement and the case is set to go to trial this summer in Spokane County Superior Court.

In the meantime, Spokane Valley has been repairing City Hall rather than waiting for a jury’s verdict.

The city has committed up to $4.4 million to cover the cost of legal fees, investigations and repairs.