After nearly five decades in a former bank building, the Village of Sparta moved into its first brand-new village hall on Tuesday, consolidating all municipal services on one campus for the first time.
WATCH STORY HERE
The move from the downtown location to the new facility next to the village's police station represents a significant upgrade that officials say has been long overdue.
"The move has gone pretty well. It's, of course, stressful. The IT stuff is the big thing, right? Getting the phones working, getting the computers up and running, because everything is so heavily reliant on those systems," said Jim Lower, Sparta Village Manager.
The new arrangement will make it easier for residents to access village services, according to Chief Andrew Milanowski of the Sparta Police Department.
"We've had a lot of people stop at the police department and ask where the village hall is, so now it's all one, it's just going to be wonderful. The people of the village can now come here to do all their work," Milanowski said.
Lower said the consolidated campus will serve residents better than the previous scattered locations.
"If you want to go to a council meeting, go to this building. If you want to pay your water bill, you go here. If you want to talk to the police, you go there. If you want to talk to the DPW, you go there. Now it's all a one-stop shop. So, we really do think that'll serve the public a lot better," Lower said.
The new facility includes a garage for Sparta's Department of Public Works, which will improve efficiency for the department that was previously spread across multiple locations.
"Prior to this, actually, we were situated in at least three different areas. So equipment-wise, you know, this equipment is over at the water plant, the wastewater plant. It's sending two people over to this to get this equipment," said William Hunter, Sparta Director of Public Works.
For the first time, residents will be able to attend council meetings at the village hall itself.
"I think they're really going to like it something they can be proud something they can be proud of for many, many years," Lower said.
The village hall will remain closed for the week of Thanksgiving while staff completes the setup process. The facility will officially open on December 1 at 7:30 a.m. Village officials are planning an open house for residents sometime in January.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
