A new city hall may be on the horizon for Litchfield Park, but Mayor Thomas Schoaf remained tight-lipped when the subject was broached in a recent city meeting.
Councilman John Romack raised the issue during a Jan. 19 work session, questioning why the city does not have plans to invest in a new city hall.
“It seems to me that we also need to be discussing in long-term…but in reasonable terms the building of a new city hall that works for all of us,” Romack said.
In response, Schoaf admitted there are internal discussions about replacing Litchfield’s city hall at 214 W. Wigwam Blvd.
“There are discussions going on…that are not ready for prime time in terms of public discussion,” the mayor said.
He also suggested while the topic is not “ripe for discussion,” he hopes to bring it before the council in a study session “in the next six to eight months.”
The city is working to replace its public works building, located directly behind city hall, at an estimated cost of $200,000 sometime in the fiscal year 2023.
Plans for Litchfield’s current city hall are unclear, but it seems unlikely the 84-year-old structure will be demolished. The city presented plans in the same meeting to upgrade the current city hall’s furniture, office and electrical system for an estimated $30,000.
The adobe brick building has housed Litchfield's city hall since it was acquired in 1994.
The building originally was constructed by Pasadena architect Jan Furey Munz to serve as the headquarters for Southwest Cotton Co., a subsidiary of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., which owned much of the land that would one day be Litchfield Park, according to “Images of America: Litchfield Park.”
Goodyear Tire eventually changed the name Southwest Cotton Co. to Goodyear Farms.
Litchfield was incorporated as a city in 1987 after Goodyear sold the land to SunCor. Much of that land was later acquired by Litchfield Park.
Madeline Ackley can be reached at mackley@iniusa.org or found on Twitter @Mkayackley.
Madeline Ackley is a Phoenix-area native who joined Independent Newsmedia in July 2021 as a reporter for the Goodyear-Litchfield Park Independent. She is passionate about delivering hyperlocal coverage of issues that matter to her community.
She has previously covered immigration, policing, homelessness, veteran’s issues and breaking news and her byline has appeared in The Arizona Mirror, The Arizona Republic, The Phoenix Business Journal and Cronkite News.
Madeline is passionate about animal welfare and the environment. She loves to cook, travel and spend time with her family.
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