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Residents given opportunity to tour fire-ravished Grand Forks City Hall Friday

Press release from the City of Grand Forks about a chance to see the destruction of city hall.
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Fire struck Grand Forks City Hall this morning doing extensive damage inside and a moderate to the door frame.

Following last week’s fire at City Hall, the City is offering residents the opportunity to take a look at the first floor of City Hall from the entrance of the building before restoration work begins.“The historic brick building has been a part of our community since 1911 and holds a special place in the hearts of many of our residents,” says Mayor Brian Taylor. “We wanted to provide an opportunity for people to take a sneak peek before the restoration work gets underway. It’s also another chance for our community to gather and talk about what happened and how we plan to move forward.”The event will take place as follows.• Friday, September 27, 2013• 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM• Steps of City Hall, 7217 – 4th Street, Grand Forks, BC• Refreshments provided• Attendees can have a look from the entrance to see the effects of the fire• Mayor Brian Taylor, members of Council and staff will be on hand to share information about plans to move forward and answer questions.New location found for Building Inspections and Utility Bill Payments.More than 50 people attended a special Council meeting held Monday, September 23rd at the Grand Forks Senior Centre to provide an update on the steps being taken to restore services for residents, businesses and visitors.

“Thank you to everyone who attended our special Council meeting on Monday to learn more about what happened and what we are doing to move forward,” says Mayor Brian Taylor. “We recognize that it will be some time before we are back in the refurbished City Hall and we are making plans to ensure that we can continue to provide the necessary services to our community. In the meantime we will do our best to keep you informed about our next steps.”The Public Works office, located at 130 Industrial Drive, will remain the temporary home of Corporate Services, Development, Engineering and Planning Services and Finance (with the exception of Utility Bill Payments), until a more suitable location can be found.7217 – 4TH STREET, BOX 220 ∙ GRAND FORKS, BC VOH 1H0 ∙ FAX 250-442-8000 ∙ TELEPHONE 250-442-8266EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 19, 2013 TEMPORARY CITY HALL LOCATION: 130 INDUSTRIAL DRIVE, GRAND FORKS, BC2The search is underway and it is anticipated that a new location will be announced in the coming weeks.Effective Tuesday, October 1st, Building Inspection Services and Utility Bill Payment Services will be located at 7425 5th Street, across from the Overwaitea parking lot and beside the Walker Development Centre.City staff are available to handle inquiries in person at either location. The phone lines have been re-routed and you can also reach City staff at the same phone number: 250-442-8266. With remote access to online databases, staff are able to continue to provide service as before.City Council will continue to hold its regular Council meetings as scheduled. These will be held at the Grand Forks offices of the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary, located at 2140 Central Avenue.Restoration work in now underway. As part of this, the City’s archives located in the basement level of the building have been recovered and are undamaged.Additional informationAdditional updates will be provided to media and on our website. You can also sign up for email updates that will cover the restoration of City Hall. Simply email update@grandforks.ca to be added to the list.“Thank you to everyone for your continued support,” adds Mayor Taylor.For more information, please contact City Hall at• Phone – 250-442-8266• Email – update@grandforks.ca• Web – grandforks.ca