PORT TOWNSEND — Port Townsend residents Michelle Bruns and Kirk McDonald were given an impromptu tour of the new 11,700-square-foot City Hall annex on Tuesday.

With cardboard moving boxes left to unpack and final exterior work still under way, the city staff’s relocation from the temporary Waterman & Katz building to the new annex at 250 Madison St. went without a hitch.

The annex opened at 8 a.m. Tuesday, as planned.

“Finance is taking bills and Development Services is taking permits, so we’re back in business,” said a smiling City Manager David Timmons late Tuesday afternoon, looking relieved and a bit weary.

“It’s been stressful, but we got it done.

“So far it’s been remarkably uneventful,” said Timmons, who broke in his new office and new administrative conference rooms on the second floor atop an old-growth fir staircase lined with a sculpted metal railing by Port Townsend artist Russell Jaqua.

“I like the railing very much. It’s beautiful,” said Bruns, who was given a tour of the facility by administrative assistant Peach Stebbins, who also assigned office and exit door keys to city staffers.

Other’s who visited the new first-floor finance department bill paying window just a few steps off Madison Street between Water and Washington streets expressed their approval of the annex’s entrance beyond two large doors leading to the Jaqua artwork.

$6 million annex

The new $6 million annex, with walls colored in soft tones, has efficient radiant heating throughout and energy-saving, motion-sensor lighting in each room.

Automatic doors, access ramps and easy-to-find public meeting rooms make the facility accessible to all. An elevator provides further access to all city departments.

Other touches include an accessible shower intended for employees with dirty jobs and to encourage employees to use alternative modes of transportation, such as bicycles.