AUBURN – Drivers registered their cars, voters dropped off absentee ballots and community development staffers met with their clients.

It was business as usual at the Auburn City Building on Friday.

Meanwhile, Denise Brown fended off attempts to move her calculator.

“I need that,” she told the crews packing up her old office for the move to Auburn Hall.

Like Brown, an Auburn finance department assistant, city staffers struggled to squeeze in as much work as possible Friday while relocating to new offices a few blocks away.

“The main thing we’re all trying to do is serve the public right up until 4:30 p.m. today and still be ready to serve them at 8 a.m. Tuesday, without missing a beat,” said Laurie Smith, acting finance director.

City workers will take the long Columbus Day weekend to move into their new digs at Auburn Hall on Court Street.

Public works crews began moving filing cabinets, boxes and office equipment on Monday. By Friday afternoon, almost everything was gone – filing cabinets, photo copiers, printers and tables – leaving Brown, her desk and her calculator to finish out the day.

That didn’t stop people from coming in for garage sale permits, registering to vote or registering their vehicles.

“I don’t think it’s quite sunk in for all of them,” Smith said. “They only come in twice a year, to register their cars. So they just come here as a reflex.”

Glenna Davis of 525 Lake St. said she didn’t realize the city offices were moving. She came in Friday to drop off her absentee ballot, but said she might have waited until Tuesday if she’d known.

“I may come back with a friend and go look at (Auburn Hall),” Davis said. “I guess I really want to see if it’s worth all the money. I certainly hope it is. I mean, it’s spent. So I guess it’s too late.”

Auburn resident Brenda Moreau said she didn’t realize the move was going on, either. She was waiting with her father, Channing Penley, to register his new truck.

“This doesn’t look too bad,” she said. “I’ve moved a lot in my life, so I know how it goes. They’re doing a good job.”

Meanwhile, the city’s Engineering Department led the charge into the new Auburn Hall offices, according to City Engineer Steve Ranney. A sewer line below the City Building broke earlier this week, flooding most of the engineering department’s basement offices.

“We took that as good sign to get out,” Ranney said. His staff was mostly moved and set up by Wednesday and had already starting serving customers.

City Manager Pat Finnigan said she planned to do most of her moving Saturday.

“My biggest concern has been getting the other offices moved,” she said. “They need to be set up and ready to go when we open the doors Tuesday, so we’re concentrating on them first.”

Auburn Hall is the combination of a new building and an old building. The new side is designed to mirror the neighboring historic building. A grand entrance connects the two buildings in the front, and a second-story bridge to the new Mechanics Row parking garage links them in the back.

The cost of the renovation is about $8.7 million, including $7.8 million in construction costs, $762,119 in design fees and $138,820 in change orders.

Auburn Hall Information
Address: 60 Court St.

Phone: 333-6600

Hours: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 7 a.m. -5 p.m. Monday.
Office locations
• First floor: Assessing, City Clerk, Engineering, Planning and Permitting, Tax Office

• Second floor: City Council chambers, city manager’s office

• Third floor: Community Development

• Fourth floor: Financial Services, Health, Human Relations

Free two-hour parking is available in the Mechanics Row parking garage, on the basement and the third levels