Madras celebrates new city hall, police station

After decades in the making, Madras finally gets a new city hall and police station.
On Saturday, city officials and the community welcomed it.

It goes all the way back to the 1980s, when former Madras city staff identified the need for a new city hall.

And Saturday, city officials opened a new chapter.

The new Madras City Hall and Police Station replaces the old building off of D Street.

Construction took almost a year to complete.

City staff, police and the community filled the new council chambers for a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Construction on the $4 million, 15,000-square-foot project began nearly a year ago. Bend-based CS Construction won the bid for the work.

“I’m just looking forward to have a better face on Madras, so that when people come through, they can see something really professional and well thought-out,” said Madras Mayor Melanie Widmer.

“I think it just portrays a better image of our community,” she said. “It’s a big step. I always believe that a community deserves public spaces that they can be proud of, and our former facility really wasn’t that. So this is just a huge improvement — very professional, functional and beautiful.”

The old facility also just wasn’t big enough. The new one has bigger offices and council chambers, and is more functional for meeting spaces.

The police department now has an evidence storage room and interview rooms with video equipment.

Overall, city officials said it’s providing better working conditions for city staff and police.