Rathdrum City Hall reaching new heights

RATHDRUM — The new Rathdrum City Hall will reflect the environment around it. 

Marcus Valentine of Architects West shared the inspiration during a “tree-topping” ceremony with the public, city leadership and Walker Construction.  

“The building mimics the shape of the mountain behind us,” Valentine said. “It’s a monument to our community.”  

A beam with an American flag and a small tree was lifted up to complete a section on the highest portion of the City Hall structure.

The ceremony originated in Scandinavian and Norse cultures as a gesture of respect to the surroundings in hopes that those using the structure will prosper.  

The new building has three levels and takes up about 30,000 square feet on a 30-acre site on Lancaster Road across from the North Idaho College Parker Center.  

City administrator Leon Duce said the price tag will come to about $20 million using savings set aside for the project. 

“Buildings shape lives long after the final brick is laid,” Walker Construction Owner and Vice President Josh Chrisman said. “Legacies are not just in what we build, they’re in the relationships we forge along the way.” 

Rathdrum Mayor John Hodgkins said the ceremony marked a major milestone in the project. 

"Over 20 years ago, our city leaders envisioned a project the city would need in the future. Among the chief concerns of our city leaders at time was establishing a fund that would pay for City Hall without burdening the people of Rathdrum,” Hodgkins said. 

Hodgkins said the completion of the bones of the structure symbolizes the culmination of “tremendous hard work, safety and steady and progress.” 

Currently, different departments are scattered around the city, making larger coordination more difficult. The new City Hall will house most of the agencies in one central location. 

“This building represents a commitment to an efficient and modern government that will serve our residents well into the future,” Hodgkins said. “We look forward to the day we can move in and fully open this facility to the public. It’s a proud moment for us all.” 

Duce said the needs of the city are not being met by current facilities.  

"It’s been rough and hard sometimes being in those buildings that we have. Our police department’s an old Farragut building that's been remodeled about a dozen times or more. Our parks and rec department are in an old ambulance building with the bays converts into a parks and rec area,” Duce said.  

When Duce was hired in 2016, he was given a directive to have a new city hall built in five years. A decade later, construction is headed toward completion in 2027. 

“We’ve made things work. And after years of savings, our former mayors and council members to bring it to the point that we could build this building today, it’s just an absolutely amazing project,” Duce said. 

    Rathdrum Police Chief Dan Haley signs the beam before it was positioned on top of the new Rathdrum City Hall on Thursday.
  

    The tallest beam is hoisted up on the structure for the new Rathdrum City Hall as part of a "tree topping" ceremony on Thursday. Jake Jordan prepares to position the beam while Cody VanDuyne climbs up to join him.
  

    Residents and city staff in the crowd applaud the "tree topping" for the new Rathdrum City Hall.