It was a milestone weekend in Sequim.

Hundreds of Sequim High School students celebrated their academic careers on Friday before hundreds of residents and dignitaries took in the dedication of the City of Sequim’s new Civic Center on Saturday.

People packed the nearly finished community plaza at 152 W. Cedar St. where the Serenity House Thrift Store used to stand. Now a striking totem pole from the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe called “Why the Sun Always Shines in Sequim,” towers over the plaza near flag poles separated by a steel sheet from the World Trade Center. Three Sequim Police officers recovered the artifact in 2011 from New York as a tribute to those lost in the 9/11 attacks.

Trees, benches and pavers also line the new plaza leading into the 33,000-square-foot city hall and police station.

City staff brought in all facets of the Sequim community to perform or speak for the festivities from the Sequim High School Select Choir singing the national anthem to dignitaries from Sequim’s sister city, Shiso City, Japan, to W. Ron Allen, executive director of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, to Congressman Derek Kilmer.

Patrick Adams with the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe blessed the totem pole and center to finish the ceremony.

Diane Kretschmer, a Sequim resident for five years, attended the ceremony and said the plaza is “a nice gathering spot.”

“I felt bad the police were in a shopping center for so long,” she said.

City officials began designating funds for a new city hall in 2005 and plans later were combined to build a joint city hall and police station, which led to the $14.5 million construction of the Civic Center.

The city agreed on a design/build contract with Lydig Construction and Integrus Architects.

Previously, city voters approved a 0.1-percent public safety tax in 2012 to help fund the new police station portion of the center after being in the Sequim Village Plaza near JCPenney for 20-plus years.

City officials also sold $10.4 million in municipal bonds in 2013 for construction and $3 million in utility bonds in 2014 both at 4 percent interest over 30 and 20 years.

The Serenity House, former city hall and a few neighboring homes were demolished and construction crews broke ground in late May 2014.

City staff from public works and community development, the police station and temporary city hall offices moved in a few days prior to opening for business on May 18.