$2.7 million City Hall renovation wraps up

A $2.7 million renovation project at Hoover City Hall is almost complete after nine months of work.

Workers have been busy putting finishing touches on the project and hoped to have it complete in time for the Sept. 8 Hoover City Council meeting.

Duncan & Thompson Construction gutted and rebuilt the City Council chamber, council offices, numerous administrative offices, restrooms and a small conference room just off the lobby.

Workers also expanded the lobby by building a floor over a large open space that previously looked down onto the second floor. This provides for a much larger gathering space outside the council chamber and city clerk’s office.

Additionally, a new large room on what had been part of the outdoor patio on the third floor was added just off the lobby. That room will be used for community meetings, conferences, staff training and other gatherings.

Construction crews also put a new floor and new paint on the enclosed bridge that goes over Municipal Lane to the Hoover Public Library and resealed the windows to try to better weatherproof the bridge, which had been experiencing leaks and moisture problems.

One of the biggest reasons for the overall renovation project was to eliminate a moisture problem in city hall itself, which had led to mold and mildew problems and a musty smell. All of those issues should be resolved with the renovation, said Jim Wyatt, the city’s chief operations officer.

“We’re getting a really clean, nice, new facility there,” Wyatt said. “I think the contractor did an excellent job, and the architect (Aho Architects) was very responsive. ... The architect did a great job on the finishes and colors and everything. It really looks nice.”

Hoover Council President Gene Smith said the renovation has been a long time coming. The council chamber had not been renovated since it was originally built in the 1980s, he said.

Some people may have a concern that the council spent money on itself in difficult economic times, but it’s important to know that all of the money for this project came from a state fund set up specifically for the construction or maintenance of municipal property, Smith said.

Also, the renovation work was approved in November and began in December, prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, which is what precipitated the most recent financial concerns.

Plus, “we won’t have to worry about the mold issue,” Smith said. That was a health concern both for city employees and visitors to City Hall.

The public also will benefit from much better audio-visual technology at meetings of the City Council, Planning and Zoning Commission, Board of Zoning Adjustment and Arts Council, Smith said.

The chamber has new microphones, a new speaker system, a large video screen that replaced a mural that had been behind council members and two video screens mounted onside walls that can swing out to better face the audience, said Jason Cope, the city’s technology director.

Also, there is a new podium that can be used for presentations that has the ability for the speaker to plug in a flash drive to show visuals and redline over items on the visuals instead of having to point or use a laser pointer on visuals put up by a projector on the wall, Cope said.

Each council member now will have a 15-inch computer monitor to more closely see items being presented on screen, he said.

There is also improved equipment that will be used to broadcast meetings live on YouTube. In the past, the city has relied on iPads mounted on stands to record and broadcast the meetings. The sound quality was horrible, and the camera work was bad, Cope said.

The newly renovated council chamber have three cameras that can tilt and zoom. There likely will be one camera on the council, one on the audience or podium, and one on the mayor, city attorney, city administrator or city clerk (who sit together), Cope said.

Viewers should now be better able to tell who is speaking than they could before, he said.

There also will be an electronic “brain system” that ties all the technology together and can be controlled by a staff member remotely if necessary, Cope said.

The council chamber also was “future-proofed” to hopefully more easily allow for future technology upgrades, he said.

There is new seating in the council chamber, as well as for the new offices, conference rooms and training areas. Offices that were renovated include those for the city administrator, event manager and risk management staff.

“It’s money well spent,” Smith said. “The people are going to be wonderfully surprised.”