The Kaysville Municipal Building originally housed city offices, a library, kitchen, assembly hall, and a concrete vault for city records. The building was designed by the Salt Lake City based architectural firm of Ashton & Evans. Construction began in late 1941 but was halted after the attack on Pearl Harbor; construction did not resume until 1943 with completion in 1944. Funding for the building came in part through a WPA (Works Progress Administration) grant. This one-story structure was built using the native stone from nearby canyons.

The building housed the Davis County Health Department into the mid 1950s. From 1962 until 2015 it was home to the Kaysville Public Library. The library was housed in the north half of the building and the City Hall and offices were housed in the central section and the south wing. The library expanded into the entire building when Kaysville built new city offices in 1987. It is currently used as surplus storage for the city.

Parks & Recreation Director Cole Stephens said the City Council conducted a work session last September to consider next steps to be taken with the vacant building. Staff was asked to engage with a third-party consultant and on November 4, 2021, the City Council authorized a contract with FFKR Architects for an assessment report on the Library Building. “This was the first step in the process of determining the use of the building and potential costs associated with any preservation work,” Stephens said. 

FFKR Architect Steven Cornell discussed the Historic Building Condition Assessment and Recommendation Report. He referenced the Main Street revitalization and its importance and connection to this building. He said a vibrant Main Street needs to supply a reason to bring people to the street to engage. Cornell referenced the Old Library Building as “Kaysville’s Pantheon,” or akin to a Roman Temple or location denoting the most honored persons of a group. The building is modest in its presence on Main Street but has the great qualities of fronting onto Main Street, nice windows, approachable and scaled to pedestrians, and includes a great deal of thought and historical craft.

“The majority of the building’s architectural components are in good condition,” Cornell said. “The exceptions generally reflect conditions which are isolated to limited areas and represent a scope of work that can be accomplished with reasonable effort.” He said the exterior envelope of the building is not performing well, but there are still opportunities for improvement and remediation of these issues. 

Cornell talked about structural issues and the original building space and layout. The primary recommendations for improvement include landscape/irrigation modifications to prevent water intrusion; repointing exterior masonry walls; repair of/replacement of exterior doors; repair of/upgrade existing windows; repair/stabilization of precast concrete elements at the entrances and cornices; repair/replacement of the roofing membrane (largely driven by structural enhancement); repair of/replacement of water damaged and wall finishes (floorings/ceilings); and insulating the foundations from the inside as well as the exterior wall. Total hard construction costs estimated by FFKR are $1,576,558 for everything, excluding general contractor costs; and including those general conditions the estimated amount of $2,196,564.

The Council debated various scenarios and ideas, including the potential to consider multiple available aid programs, grant funding, or even bonding where the taxpayers can decide. Councilmembers inquired whether costs would increase the more time goes by, with Cornell estimating 5% typical cost increases per year associated with inflation. He did say the building shell could be upgraded and any tenant could fund the remaining internal costs to drive the design costs down. 

Councilmember Mike Blackham suggested “allocating funding to get the building drawings to the point where they could be sent out to bid and actual costs provided in response to a Request for Proposal (RFP)”. Councilmember Perry Oaks said, “there is nowhere in the report that recommends demolition, only that the building can be fixed.” The Council was unanimous in that the building is iconic to Kaysville, Main Street might not be the same without it, and it is worth coming up with a plan for it to be repurposed (depending on cost). 

Mayor Tami Tran said she “would love for this building to be repurposed; it would be fantastic if use were ½ restaurant and the remainder a museum so that when people are waiting for their food, they can peruse the museum.” She said she would like to save the building by asking for private companies to come in and open a restaurant and help pay for costs. She said the city is very aware of cost and commitment of taxpayer money but could potentially offer incentives or creative alternatives. 

Ultimately, the Council determined the next best step would be to solicit a call for interest and issue an RFP/RFI for ideas to remodel and restore the former city building. This would involve minimal cost to the city and enable evaluation and determination of interest and viability. 

Stay tuned for this public advertisement; all ideas are encouraged! λ