Enterprise City Hall will remain in temporary digs at Dr. Rusty Woods’ former office, 117 E Main Street in Enterprise, for the foreseeable future.

There was no crystal ball available at the Aug. 15 work session when administrators, council kmembers, the city’s insurance agent, lawyer and engineer were present to discuss “what happens next” after the old city hall was gutted by fire July 10.

Nevertheless, the mood was hopeful.

The city has a “replacement” limit of $1.3 million on the fire damaged and gutted building on 108 NE First and another approximately $360,000 to pay the rent on the temporary site and replace office machines.

The city’s insurance agent, Kathy Duncan-Caspar of Wheatland Insurance, praised the city for its cost-saving actions. The city’s insurers, City County Insurance Services, had suggested the city hall be housed in portable structures, but the cost was high.

“Renting locally has kept costs down,” Duncan-Caspar said. “Everything you’ve done has been great for keeping costs down.”

The question of what the insurance adjuster will consider “replacement” was the primary subject Monday night. Duncan-Casper told the assemblage that conversations with the adjuster had led her to believe the potential for razing the structurally damaged 1957 building and building a new and better-designed building was good given the cost to refit on an potentially unsafe building.

The city has known for years that bringing the old city hall up to code would be expensive — if it were even possible. In 2009, structural engineer Jon Walker told the city the building was not worth the effort and gave them a 100 percent guarantee of total loss in the case of a serious seismic event.

“It’s an old building, and you’ve really got to want to save it if you’re going to save it. It will be very costly,” he warned.

At the time of Walker’s inspection, a single large iron beam was already supporting a truss in the fire hall and more support was added shortly afterward.

On Monday night Fire Chief Paul Karvoski also reported that the concrete in one of the parking bays shifted beneath trucks as they passed in and out of the building.

“Bringing the old building up to code is basically a rebuild,” said City Attorney Wyatt Baum. He advised the city to be prepared to “push back” if the insurance company lowballed the cost of repair.

Whether insurance would cut the city a check for the whole $1.3 million if the new building were larger than the old was also a consideration.

“We’re pretty much forced to move out of that (old) footprint if we rebuild up to ADA and new codes,” said City Manager Michele Young.

Brett Moore, senior engineer for Anderson Perry, was tasked with investigating costs for both repair and replacement for presentation to the insurance adjuster and the city. Moore will also be calling La Grande and John Day Fire departments, which have recently built new fire houses, for examples of plans that are efficient and up to current code.

“I’m on it,” Moore said.

The focus going forward will be finding housing for the Enterprise Fire Department and its trucks over the winter.

“We need that buttoned up,” said Karvoski.

City Hall public meetings are being held at Cloverleaf Hall on the Wallowa County Fairgrounds.