Municipal Utilities will take possession Tuesday of a new location for its billing department and other personnel.
The move to 1902 Sunset is expected to occur in the next two months, general manager Bill Bach said Monday, during a meeting of the utility advisory board.
The utility will take over the former home of First Missouri State Bank, which is now open in a new building on Barron Road.
Approximately $800,000 will be spent from the utility reserve to purchase the building, and another $100,000 on renovations, Bach said.
"One of the AC units is going to need fixed and of course we're going to have to make some modifications inside to get into it," Bach explained.
Work will include the addition of an elevator, a generator, a bathroom that is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, glass for inside teller stations and running fiber to connect the location with the city's computer network.
Advisory board members questioned the age of the roof. It may also need some work, Bach said, explaining an inspection found one area with possible damage.
The building is approximately 30 years old.
The utility entered a contract in 2016 for the purchase and has received a $100,000 discount in the original price due to delays in the move. The building is valued at approximately $1.8 million, according to information presented to the council when the contract was signed. The remaining value of the building was donated to the city.
The new location will be home to 13 staff members, including customer service and billing personnel, as well as records.
The utility has had nine employees working temporarily in a 28-by-64-foot modular building on Barron Road since the sale of their previous offices with the city's cable division. An additional three administrative staff moved into the utility distribution office at that time.
The new building is approximately 10,200-square feet and sits on 1.24 acres of property.
Bach said the bank would maintain a section of the property used for an ATM.
In other business, the advisory board also discussed amending the 2018 budget for the purchase of a backyard machine used to do utility work in small spaces. Budgeted at $150,000, the cost has increased to $186,000, Bach said. It was originally put in the budget about five years ago, he said.
The machine reduces damage in yards and can fit through 36-inch gates, he said.
The amendment was later discussed and voted on by city council members, at their regular meeting.