Aberdeen City Council moves to Grays Harbor College

The Aberdeen City Council will move venues for the second time in a couple weeks after the elevator in Aberdeen City Hall broke on May 1.

The city shared the news of the change early Thursday morning, six days before the city council’s next meeting, which will happen Wednesday, May 22 at 6:30 p.m.

It sounds as though the new spot, room 3322 in Grays Harbor College’s Student Services building — 1620 Edward P Smith Dr., — is better for multiple reasons. Becca Weiss, Aberdeen’s deputy city clerk, explained the change from Rotary Log Pavilion, which hosted the May 8 city council meeting.

“The Rotary Log Pavilion had several bookings already that conflicted with our regularly scheduled meetings and by reserving meeting dates for up to a year we were potentially taking a space away from the community,” Weiss said. “The Log Pavilion is a community space that is frequently used. By moving our meetings to the college, it frees up the pavilion for the community to use. We’ve also heard from the community members that because of the acoustics in the log pavilion, it can be difficult to hear, especially for those who already have difficulty hearing.”

Grays Harbor College, however, has the space that meets all the city’s needs. Most importantly, the space is available for the time — “up to a year” — the city may need for the elevator replacement. There is parking right next to the building, according to the city.

As far as if the city is renting the space and if Grays Harbor College is charging the city, Weiss said that has not been determined or discussed.

“This is all still a work in progress but will hopefully be our ‘permanent temporary’ location,” Weiss said.

Contact Reporter Matthew N. Wells at matthew.wells@thedailyworld.com.