City Hall Annex ruled unsafe; personnel moving to temp sites

VICKSBURG — The city of Vicksburg’s City Hall Annex has been declared unsafe and seven of eight departments housed there are moving out.

Mayor Paul Winfield tells the Vicksburg Post departments would move beginning Friday to temporary offices in other buildings.

Winfield said he and aldermen would move meetings from the annex to the Vicksburg Convention Center starting next Tuesday.

The only city office that will remain in the building is Vicksburg Senior Center. Winfield said that area of the annex is in good shape.

Other departments headquartered in the building are public works and engineering, personnel, grants and planning, mapping, TV-23, police internal affairs and purchasing.

Winfield said an engineering report found the trusses and beams supporting the roof’s rafters are in very poor shape. The trusses, according to the report, are not adequately anchored to the walls or columns that support them and have deteriorated from water damage.

The report also said any roof repairs would require making major modifications to the building. It recommended demolishing it and building a new building.

Winfield said he would recommend razing the building, except for the senior center, and paving the property for a parking lot.

Winfield said the estimate for a new roof was $500,000, which he said might be more that the building is worth.

City officials bought the building, known then as the Neill Building, in 1995 for $250,000.