City Hall experiences facelift

BARSTOW • Some people may still have been digesting their Thanksgiving meal, Friday, but Thomas Alva and other members of the city’s Public Works Department and employees from PACE Services took advantage of the empty building to continue painting, landscaping and clean-up of City Hall.

“The public isn’t coming in and the employees aren’t coming in,” Alva said. “We started last Monday.”

While city staff is examining major long-term changes to the building’s interior, City Hall’s exterior has taken on a cleaner look. The palm trees and much of the shrubbery has been removed, making the building’s front easily visible from the street. The metal overhang in front of the main entrance may sport a new coat of paint, said Jeanette Hayhurst, the city’s community services director. Staff will also fix whatever needs fixing as they work.

City Manager Richard Rowe appropriated $100,000 for improvements to the building’s exterior about two years ago, Hayhurst said. Work on the building should be done within a month.

“The exterior renovations are for basic cleanup,” Hayhurst said. “That’s going to be things like paint (and) landscaping improvements.”

The painting and cleanup may be done within a month, Hayhurst said, but the city likely won’t replace the plants that have been removed until sometime next spring. The plants will be smaller and possibly drought tolerant, according to Hayhurst.

The exterior work is being done by city employees, but in April the City Council approved a $95,000 contract with an architect to create a long-term plan for renovations to City Hall. According to Hayhurst, this plan will address the building’s layout and whether some rooms and offices should be expanded. The plan would also include changes to the building that houses the Barstow Police Department. Hayhurst plans to ask for an extension to the contract at the City Council’s Dec. 7 meeting, she said.

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(760) 256-4123 or jcejnar@desertdispatch.com