DANVILLE—After some new carpeting,completed glass partitions and now exterior window improvements,city hall has been seeing a mini-makeover.
City employees have been working on the west side windows on the building at 17 W.Main St.
"That's our crews doing the work,"said Public Works Director Doug Ahrens."Yes,we are trying to dress up the exterior a little bit."
There is now some glass block surrounded by newly painted framing.
Ahrens said the old overhangs on the windows were failing,so the city came up with a different concept for improving the windows.
"It had been some time since the exterior was spruced up,"Ahrens said.
Funds for the exterior improvements are coming from the Parks and Public Property operational budget.
Cost for painting and lift rental,etc.is anticipated to be between$3,000 and$5,000,according to Ahrens.
At one time,city officials had considered having a drive-up window for customers doing business at city hall.
But given the current layout of the interior of the structure and the width of the drive lanes,a drive-up window is not feasible,Ahrens said.
The city lost some width in the parking lot from when a bank was located there,with part of the Walnut Street reconstruction and two-way traffic change several years ago.
"It'd be very difficult without blocking traffic,"Ahrens said.
All the glass partitions are now installed inside the building at the finance and other city departments that had a public window.That work was performed by The Glass Doctor.
Ahrens said the partitions preserve the interaction with customers,but also provide a little more security.
When city hall was unoccupied at nights and on weekends,someone could have easily hopped the counter and entered other work areas,Ahrens said.
The glass partitions are seen regularly at government buildings,such as with the county.
Ahrens estimated the glass partition cost to be about$5,000 that came out of last fiscal year's operational budget.
New carpeting also was installed earlier in the year inside city hall,with money coming from capital funds.
The council approved a$39,934 contract with Precision Floor&Tile Inc.of Urbana for the municipal building carpet replacement on the first and second floors,not the lower city council chamber's floor.The lower level would have added another$19,181 to the cost.
The council had rejected a$59,988 contract with Carpet Weavers of Champaign and requested a re-bid for the flooring installation project due to concerns about some of the carpeting not needing to be replaced.
The carpet project was for the remaining half of the municipal building.The other half was re-carpeted in 2010.
The municipal building recently had a hot water tank burst.It was a water heater under the sink in the legal department area,Ahrens said.
Otherwise,the building is still in good condition,as joints are sealed,etc.,and fits the city's needs.
