If you build it, the debt will come.

As the city of Poulsbo employees prepare for the big move into the new City Hall, it becomes more obvious that the new building was a case of a good idea that was poorly executed.

While new City Hall was necessary — the old City Hall is a dilapidated building with creaky floors and broom closets converted to office space. But one of the scale and magnitude the city designed certainly wasn’t.

The location, too, is still the subject of debate, as it landed at Third and Moe, but they style doesn’t fit with the scheme of the downtown’s Nordic-themed core. Not even a little bit.

The 30,000-square-foot building’s massive interior has plenty of room for the administration to grow, that much is for sure. But when you’re talking about a city with a population of about 9,000, it’s the equivalent of buying a newborn baby a size 2X sweatshirt.

While the final price tag has yet to be determined — subcontractors going bankrupt and infrastructure needs will have driven the cost up — the tally bandied about for the last year or so has been $15.8 million. For a city of Poulsbo’s size it’s just ridiculous. By comparison, the city of Bainbridge Island, with its population of about 23,900, paid $9 million for its new home in 2000.

Adding to the mix are the city officials who are basically crossing their fingers that their plan to pay for it all will come together. The fact is we are in a recession — or correction, as some prefer. The city plans to sell three properties and use that money to pay part of the debt. As is evident in a stroll on Front Street, a lot of commercial property is up for grabs and nobody’s grabbing. Odds are the city is stuck with the property and the $15.8 price tag until the recession ends.

Sadly enough, the city is now in the horrible position of having to dig itself out of the financial mess created by the need for a new City Hall and the want for something large and shiny.