With an eye on the present and the future, Truesdale city officials Saturday celebrated the completion of the city hall expansion and renovation project. While staff have been working out of a 1,035-square-foot addition built to the west of the existing structure for a few months, officials have been eager to show off the new accommodations. Officials dedicated the new facility to the "past, present and future" for Truesdale residents and held an open house that was attended by other elected officials from the county. State Rep. Bart Korman and representatives for U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer and U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill also attended. The Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce also held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate the project. The $239,000 project was first discussed a couple of years ago when the need for more room for the police department and storage space was raised. The bigger facility allows city records previously stored at the city shed to be moved back to city hall and to segregate the police department from other city staff. "We feel like we've brought it up to date to where we should have been," Mayor Murray Bruer said. "We have a modern facility now. We are able to function a little easier." The addition houses separate offices for the city clerk, treasurer and mayor along with a break room, storage room and space for a receptionist. The existing city hall structure was remodeled to provide more room for the police department. The meeting chambers also were expanded once the facility's lone bathroom was removed and two separate bathrooms were built nearby. More parking allowed the main entrance to city hall to be relocated to South Street. T.S. Banze Construction was the project's general contractor. Cochran Engineering designed the expansion and renovation. City officials mulled for more than a year whether or not to proceed with the city hall expansion. Bruer thanked aldermen and city staff for their assistance throughout the project. "I have enjoyed working with them," Bruer said. "This was a big project." He also complimented previous elected officials for supporting the city hall project. "The previous mayors and board of aldermen made this all possible," Bruer said. "Being frugal, watching their dollars over the years made it possible for us to do this. We were able to pay out of pocket. In this economy, that was fantastic."