Today, one little bird told me that the city council, during its annual retreat last week, discussed the option of building a new “civic center” at the site of the Hillcrest Hospital. The center could be a hub of municipal activity: not only would some town offices be moved there, but a new library in the building is not off the table.

A second little bird, who happened to be at the retreat (and that narrows it down to six people, for those of you keeping count), confirmed the discussion to me this evening. There are no concrete plans — indeed, nothing beyond a mere “Wouldn’t it be nice?” according to my source.

Since we’re just speculating, I’ll throw in my two cents. I like this one: town staff are spread all over the city. You have the town manager, clerk and other personnel at City Hall; the community development department is over at the annex building; and public works/utilities and sanitation are in seperate offices up by the rec center. Consolidating offices would make it easier for residents to find answers, and it would make coordination of duties much less of a P.I.T.A. Having the library on site…well, I’ll just stay away from that one.

I’m going to try to track down some more councilors, and hopefully I’ll have a story in the Daily Press tomorrow. Regardless, be sure to get your tin-foil hats out — I’m sure this is gonna stir up some conspiracy theories.