Red Deer’s City Hall could be in store for a $1.2 million internal facelift in 2016.
Council will be asked to foot the bill to modernize the elevators ($998,000) and improve the technology in council chambers and committee meeting rooms ($230,000) on the second floor next week.
The projects are the latest in a long list of recommendations in the 2004 assessment report on the 52-year-old building.
Between 2005 and 2015, the city has spent roughly $1.3 million on upgrades and renovations.
Last year council approved $390,000 to replace the roof, carpeting, second floor lighting and boilers. Another $260,000 was spent on floor changes related to moving departments to the Professional Building and security system upgrades.
Years ago there was talk about replacing the City Hall building because of the space crunch but the chatter died down in light of the changing grant structure for municipalities.
The city leases space to accommodate staff at three sites including the Professional Building, 5439-47th St. and 3827-39th St. It has been leasing space in the Professional Building since late-2005 and the other two since mid-2007.
Currently there are 1,546 part-time, full-time and temporary city employees in all departments, of which 228 work out of the City Hall building.
The city paid $939,932 to lease the space in 2015 and will spend $860,000 in 2016.
Over the next nine years, the city will likely tackle an estimated $1.3 million on projects to keep the building up to code.
Projects include resurfacing the wheelchair ramp on the northwest side of City Hall, replacing the stair tile, the AC chiller and boiler.
Built in 1963, Red Deer’s City Hall was once an award-winner from an architectural design perspective.
The funding request is in the administration-recommended 2016 capital budget and will be debated by council on Tuesday.
crhyno@www.reddeeradvocate.com