As the city continues moving its employees out of City Hall in the Myon Complex, those who run businesses in the privately owned part of the building say they feel safe and will continue to operate there.

The City of Tifton decided to relocate its employees after an architect and a construction company on Thursday warned that the city’s portion of the building is in danger of collapsing. The city’s portion of the building has a basement that is failing and causing shifts in the structure.

The section of the Myon Complex owned by local businessman Harold Harper is said to be on a concrete slab.

BJ Smith, who has owned and operated the restaurant BJ’s at the Myon for three years, said Tuesday that she has fielded many calls from people asking her if her business, located on the second floor, was safe.

“If we thought we weren’t safe, we would do just as the city has done and move,” she said.

Smith books her restaurant for wedding receptions, showers, parties and other events. She said some customers who have booked the restaurant for upcoming events have called concerned about the building’s safety. She said that she has assured them the building is safe and offered a refund to those who seemed unsure.

She said Easter weekend is one of the busiest weekends for her business, second only to Mother’s Day.

“We’ve built our Sunday business around people who love the Myon and its history,” Smith said. “This weekend will show me.”

Smith believes the situation with the city’s portion of the building has hurt her business, but she also thinks the city did the right thing by vacating City Hall. She said that she can’t afford to relocate, anyway, because it would cost in excess of $100,000 to move the heavy cooking equipment.

“I’ve often said the only thing that will collapse is me because of hard work, but it’s not funny,” Smith said.

She hopes people will understand that the Myon is not just City Hall but is almost an entire city block of businesses. She said the Myon is “an anchor” for downtown.

“It’s my hope the historical society and other private organizations can come together,” Smith said. “Every tenant I’ve talked to has said they are staying. These are small businesses, and we have a lot of jobs at stake just on this block.”

Other businesses in the Myon Complex include Medicine Man’s Corner, Mainstreet Scoop, Barry’s Music, the Home Center, Hollis’ Barber Shop, Harper Valley Insurance and others.

The wall behind the mirror in Hollis’ Barber Shop, owned by Hollis Flanders, is one of the walls that divides the city-owned portion of the building from the area owned by Harold Harper. Flanders said that May 10 will mark his 42nd year in business.

“I don’t think it’s going to affect business,” Flanders said. “I don’t think this side of the building has any problems.”

Flanders said Harper’s side of the structure has a concrete foundation. He said he can understand the city being extremely careful.

“They have a lot of people in and out,” Flanders said. “I know they don’t have the funds now, but I hope they will consider fixing and remodeling it when they can. It’s been good here. It’s a pretty building.”

Harper said Tuesday he’s not concerned about the portion of the structure he owns. He said he hasn’t talked with an architectural firm about the state of his property in the Myon Complex.

“We don’t detect any kind of movement or shifting of any kind,” Harper said.

Harper said he and the city bought the Myon Complex in 1985, and he believes the building is the “hub of downtown.”

“City Hall needs to be here,” Harper said.

He believes his personal business would not be affected should the city decide to tear down its portion of the property rather than stabilize it, but it would have a personal affect on him. He said he appreciates the building’s history and the positive affect the building has had on the downtown area.

Harper said the Downtown Development Authority met at noon Thursday and the City Hall issue was discussed. He said it was his understanding from City Manager Mike Vollmer and others that the building could be stabilized for $2 million.

“I suggested getting with the authority to raise the $2 million and stabilize it,” Harper said.

If the city’s portion of the structure did collapse or was removed, the city would have to pay to stabilize walls connecting it and Harper’s property, Harper added.

“They would have to stabilize the walls connecting us and shore it up so it wouldn’t fall, but it would be a shame to tear the building down,” Harper said. “I can see both sides but we need it downtown to promote downtown.”

Harper said he visited all his tenants since the city’s announcement and offered them a clean out of their leases with him. He said none of them have taken the offer.

Tifton Mayor Jamie Cater, who said Tuesday he wasn’t able to attend the Downtown Development Authority meeting, said he would like to see individuals, agencies and others join to solve the problem of funding City Halls repairs.

“If that’s not economic development, I don’t know what is,” Cater said. “We don’t need to do anything in a hurry. For the time being, we are out of there, and we are in a safe place, and we are in business. I want to know what the community wants us to do, and I want to keep everything in the open.”

City Hall employees are being moved to other city offices around town.

Vollmer said Tuesday that all of the city’s utility employees formerly housed at the building on Ridge Avenue have moved to the public works complex off Armour Road. He said workers are currently running computer lines and telephone lines to the building on Ridge to accommodate customer service, the city clerk, executive assistant, the city manager and human resources on the first floor.

City Hall will officially close for business Thursday afternoon, and the cashiers’ offices will be moved to the utilities building. On Monday, the customer service and cashiers will be at the utilities building on Ridge Avenue to accept customers payments.

The plan is to have the finance manager, human resources and other management staff fully relocated to the utilities building by April 28. Vollmer said there is currently no drive-through window for customers at the utilities building but a 24-hour drop box for payments should be installed there soon.

McCall & Associates sent city officials a letter Thursday stating that problems with City Hall’s structure could cause it to collapse at some point. Jones Construction’s letter to the city stated that the portion of the building owned by the city should be monitored constantly, especially the rear wall, stairwell, roof and skylight.

The city of Tifton owns approximately 18,000 square feet of what was once the grand Myon Hotel. The building was constructed in 1906 on the foundation of the Hotel Sadie, which burned in 1905. Tifton pioneer Irvine Myers bought a part interest in the Sadie and became its manager. He and his wife, Pearl Willingham Myers, sister-in-law of Tifton’s founder, H.H. Tift, married in 1899 and operated the Hotel Sadie until it burned.