Kennewick is leaning toward building its future City Hall on top of its current one, though questions remain about what this could mean for the nearby Museum at Keewaydin.

A majority of city council members directed Coeur d’Alene-based Architects West and Portland-based Opsis to focus on a City Hall site in the middle of the civic center campus on Sixth Avenue, between Auburn and Dayton streets.

This option could require demolishing the nearby Museum at Keewaydin, run by the East Benton County Historical Society.

But consensus on this plan was tenuous. Mayor Jason McShane and Councilman Loren Anderson were solidly for the option that includes some element of exhibit space for the museum in City Hall. 

Anderson cited data from Placer.ai, a location-analytics firm that estimates foot traffic using cellphone location data. “There is a lot of emotion attached to the museum but according to AI placer data, there’s only been 771 visits over two years,” he said. “I like the idea of more people being able to see it.”

Museum officials have questioned Anderson’s visitor data, which they said they did not provide him.

“This figure in no way reflects our actual visitor count. As of today, we have hosted at least 602 visitors in 2026, despite being closed for six weeks in February and March for flooring replacements. In 2025, we recorded at least 900 visitors,” the museum said in a blog post. “While these figures are not as high as we would like, Councilman Anderson’s statement is incorrect and misleading.”

More than 1,000 people have signed the museum’s petition to stop the demolition.

Kennewick City Hall was built about 60 years ago and is a top priority for replacement by the city. City staffing has reached a point where workers are running out of room in the building, along with needed storage space for files and equipment. 

Concerns about the museum’s future gave Councilman John Trumbo reservations about moving forward, but he said in the end it makes sense for City Hall to remain in the center of the civic center campus.

Councilman Brad Beauchamp voiced concerns about the cost of relocating city staff and services to enable demolition ahead of construction but also agreed that City Hall should be the campus focal point.

Mayor Pro Tem Chuck Torelli and Councilman Jim Milbauer preferred an option that would place City Hall at the corner of Sixth and Auburn on a city-owned commercial-zoned lot that was last the location of Kennewick School District’s administrative offices. Both noted that they wanted to see the museum maintain its existing space.

Councilman Brad Klippert declined to give a preference, saying he needed to see a detailed cost breakdown first.

The city isn’t locked into a specific site plan or design. Along with Architects West and Opsis further refining design options and layout, more specific cost estimates will be calculated both for construction and related costs associated with relocating City Hall staff during demolition and construction.

City Manager Erin Erdman said the city now can also look at options to accommodate the museum should its existing building be impacted by construction. This could include providing the museum with the vacant former headquarters of the Kennewick Fire Department on the southwest corner of Sixth and Auburn or perhaps space at the current senior center nearby.