Stacks and stacks of records sit behind a clerk in the police department because there is no place to store them. Down the hallway and around the corner, money is budgeted for part-time help, but there is no place for a work station to be set up for a new hire.Several blocks away, a park building is transformed twice a month to hold municipal court hearings. Prisoners are escorted across a basketball court, within view of the playground and children.Wright City officials insist city hall is too crowded and no longer adequate to handle the immediate and future needs.A vacant former church property would be ideal, however.“With this new building, we will have adequate work space for all the employees so that way they are not on top of each other,” Mayor Dave Heiliger said. “We will be able to have conference rooms where we can have meetings and more professionalism.”He added, “We feel this is an excellent opportunity to provide the space and services needed for this community.”Next Tuesday, Wright City is seeking approval of a $1.5 million bond issue to move forward with a plan to alleviate crowding in city offices and provide more park space. The ballot proposal is similar to one that was narrowly defeated by voters in August. A four-sevenths majority, or 58 percent, is needed for passage.Under the plan, the city would purchase the former St. Charles Assembly of God Church property at 636 Westwoods Road, just east of the Lions Club, for $320,000. The city would renovate the 10,000-square-foot facility into a new city hall, along with space in the lower level possibly designated for a food pantry and storm shelter. Elsewhere on the 4 1/2-acre property, there is enough room to construct two ballfields and a playground.The existing city hall, at 203 Veterans Memorial Parkway, would be renovated to provide more room for the police department.The former church facility would provide more than enough room for city offices and storage and room for expansion in future years if needed. Also, the municipal court hearings held at Diekroeger Park could be moved there.“There is plenty of room to grow throughout this entire building,” Heiliger said. “It will be a much safer environment for everyone involved.”If voters pass the measure, officials said all renovations and park construction would be completed in 2017. The bonds also would be paid off in 20 years, officials emphasized. The tax rate also may drop over the next two decades, as the bonds are retired and the city’s assessed valuation climbs.The bond issue, if passed, will increase personal property and real estate taxes by no more than 20 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. For a home worth $100,000, the increase would cost an additional $3.17 per month; a $150,000 home would be $4.75; and a $200,000 home would be $6.33. Those figures are based on the 2014 valuation.The last time Wright City passed a bond measure was in 1994.At a Glance• This is the second time in the past year Wright City is asking voters to approve a $1.5 million bond issue funded through a tax increase on personal property and real estate. In August, voters narrowly rejected a similar proposal. A fourth-sevenths majority needed for passage.• The city would purchase the former St. Charles Assembly of God property on Westwoods Road for $320,000 and renovate the facility into a new city hall.• The former church property would also provide space to add ballfields and a park.• The existing city hall would be renovated and house the police department.Wright City