By Erica Solvig
The Cincinnati Enquirer

MASON - City Council members celebrated their first meeting in the new municipal building Monday by contributing to a time capsule that will be put behind the building's date stone.

The stone is at the base of the building's clock tower. The time capsule - with a police badge, a city map, photos, brochures, fire department patches and a 2002 quarter - will be placed there later, city spokeswoman Jennifer Trepal said.

TOWN MEETING

The Enquirer will hold a town meeting on Mason and Deerfield Township tonight. Editors, reporters and columnists will be available to answer your questions. The meeting, at the new Mason Municipal Center at 6000 Mason-Montgomery Road, begins at 6:30 p.m. and should end about 8 p.m.

"These facilities are a great service to Mason," said Mayor John McCurley. "They make it more convenient for people to attend the meetings and more convenient for people to watch on TV because of a better sound system."

A slide show of the construction gave the several dozen audience members a look at how the building came together.

The building, at 6000 Mason-Montgomery Road, opened for business Sept. 24. With a 51-foot-high central atrium, it houses Mason Municipal Court, the police and fire departments, a community meeting room and all other city departments except public works and public utilities.

An estimated 1,000 people attended the building's open house Saturday, Ms. Trepal said. Families got passports and could get a different sticker from each department in the building.

The Municipal Court dedication ceremony is Thursday at 11 a.m. Ohio Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton will discuss courtroom security.

The 120,000-square-foot, two-story building cost about $17 million.

It replaces city offices in four locations, including the 63-year-old Municipal Building downtown. It sits next to the new Mason High School, which opened in September, and the community center, which will be complete in 2003.

"It's done with beauty, yet it's very functional," Mr. McCurley said.

"Mason has become a prominent, first-class community."

E-mail esolvig@enquirer.com

Great Neighborhoods Special Section: Mason and Deerfield Township