The City of East Dublin is ending the year with plans for new growth

Local officials broke new ground at the future site of East Dublin City Hall on Friday morning

The new site of the city hall is located in a three-acre lot off U.S. Hwy 80 East across from the Bank of Dudley.
Dublin-based contractors Bagget Construction Co. will be responsible for building the new city hall. East Dublin Mayor George Gornto said if weather cooperates with the construction schedule, he hopes there will be a ribbon cutting by late summer or early fall 2008.
Gornto said the new building will be financed with special local option sales tax (SPLOST) funds. The projected cost of the new building will be nearly $600,000.
Gornto said, however, it was an easy sell to the taxpayers of East Dublin, after they proposed the new facility include a drive-thru window.
"I think it will be a facility they'll be proud of ... Everybody wanted a drive-thru window," said Gornto. "That's one of the things that sold the sales tax. They won't have to get out and walk in. It will be just like McDonald's for them to pay their utility bills."
City officials were not sure what would happen to the old city hall.
"We're kind of in limbo. We had some people talk to us about purchasing the site. So right now we don't know what we're going to do with it," said Gornto.
In the beginning, Gornto said, city officials planned to take the take the building down and eventually put the fire department in the space, but he hopes that a commercial building will be put in its place in the future.
He added even though the the new building has less square footage than the old facility, it will have more practical uses in terms of space. There will be more room for meetings and offices, he noted.
According to Gornto, the current city hall is more than 50 years old. He said contractors advised city officials that making additions to the building was not as feasible as constructing a new building. He said the new city hall will show the amount of advancement the local government has made in improving the town.
"It shows that we are really progressing. The city hall will be the center of our government. I think everyone that enters it will appreciate it," said Gornto.
Willie Paulk, executive director of the Dublin-Laurens Chamber of Commerce and Development Authority president, was also on hand to congratulate the city for the addition to the town.
"The new building will create a new atmosphere here in East Dublin," said Paulk. "The new city hall construction is just a beautiful thing for the people."
The City of East Dublin has undergone many changes in 2007. In November, city council added two new members who will take office in January; water and sewage upgrades were made in area neighborhoods, and the city approved the purchase of a new fire truck.
State Rep. DuBose Porter said it was an important day for the citizens of East Dublin.
"This an example of the progress that's been happening here," he said. "The building is the center for the government. It is really an exciting, new day for East Dublin."