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Monessen City Hall moving next door

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Monessen City Hall is moving out of its current location, due to mold found in the building.

Monessen City Council on Friday voted to relocate City Hall and the city’s operations next door, to the former Community Bank Building at Sixth Street and Donner Avenue.

Community Bank donated the building to the city late last year.

City Hall currently is located at 557 Donner Avenue.

Mayor Matthew Shorraw called for a mold test last week after a small roof leak caused wallpaper to peel off, revealing what appeared to be mold.

The mold test revealed mold throughout the building, including the eastern wall of City Hall, the treasurer’s department, the main entryway, and first- and second-floor storage rooms.

In a press release, Shorraw said it’s believed the mold has been an issue since before the city operations moved into the building in 2017.

Additionally, Shorraw said, the building has problems with rodents, hornets and boring beetles.

The measure to move City Hall and its operations passed by a 4-1 vote.

The move to the new building next door will occur “as quickly as possible, with as few interruptions to city business as possible,” Shorraw said in the press release.

Six employees – who operate the treasurer’s office, code office and payroll department, along with the city administrator and city clerk – will move

The phone numbers to City Hall and to the departments will remain the same.

Council is determining what to do with the existing building.

The city is getting cost estimates for mold remediation, but Shorraw said the building has other issues. Among them: Restrooms, counters, the entryway, and parking lot are not adequately handicapped-accessible.

In an email, Shorraw said, “I think moving is the best option for the future of city government.”

He continued, “If we were to fix the wall, given the mold content in the walls (in multiple locations – vestibule, treasurer’s office, upstairs storage room, and back storage room), we would still have to move city operations out of the building, so making one, permanent move into a newer, larger, and sturdier building is a much better option for us.”

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