Wichita to borrow, spend $1.5 million improving City Hall

Wichita will borrow $1.5 million to move some city offices and make improvements to the City Hall building.

The City Council on Tuesday approved bonding and funding for a variety of upgrades, including relocation of the Housing Services and Environmental Health departments.

Those departments will move from remote offices to City Hall floors cleared by the relocation of the planning and building inspection departments to the nearby Ronald Reagan office building.

The project will also include new carpet, replacement of the retractable bollards that protect the underground loading-dock tunnel at City Hall and installation of energy-saving LED lighting and solar film for the windows of the concrete-and-glass building.

The improvements were recommended by the Department of Public Works during budget meetings early this year.

“I think the majority of it was surrounded around some aging items that just simply are deteriorated to the point where there might be an issue with safety,” Mayor Jeff Longwell said following the meeting. “Unfortunately, we have to spend those dollars in today’s environment and worry about those kinds of issues. I wish we didn’t.”

The borrowing and spending was approved by the council without discussion as part of the “consent agenda,” a list of routine items that are all approved with a single vote.

Longwell said it was passed without discussion because the improvements are necessary and aren’t expected to be controversial.

“It’s not like the mayor’s office is getting a remake,” he said.

According to Joe Pajor, deputy director of public works, the breakdown of project funding is:

▪  Replacing carpeting in the most-worn areas, $400,000.

▪  Window film to provide some heat reduction on the south side of the building and insulation on the other three sides, $300,000.

▪  Relocating the Housing Department from its current location at 332 Riverview to open space on the 10th floor of City Hall, $275,000.

▪  Replacing fluorescent lighting with LED in areas where the lights are constantly on during the day, $250,000.

▪  Moving the Environmental Health Department from 1900 E. Ninth to the seventh floor of City Hall, $175,00.

▪  New bollards and other security improvements to the loading-zone tunnel, $100,000.

This story was originally published October 17, 2017 at 5:33 PM with the headline "Wichita to borrow, spend $1.5 million improving City Hall."