Renovations are on time and on budget for the Peoria City Council Chamber to be finished by January.
Jason Meeks manages city facilities. He says they’ve completed re-plastering and painted the walls. The ceiling panels are being repainted, the wainscoting replaced and new floor coverings are still to be added.
The chamber is also outfitted with new wiring and connectivity for today’s technology. Meeks says that will make it easier for everyone to participate in the meetings. He says 90 inch screens will face audience. "So anything that is being displayed everybody’s going to be able to see it. Council either can choose to look at the TV or they are going to be able to view everything on their IPad. They are going to be able to vote on their IPad. The microphones are totally new they don’t have to sit with the microphone in front of the their face anymore. It’s going to be on their desks and it’s going to cast a cone over the top of them.”
Meeks says the new gallery seating will also accommodate at least four wheelchairs.
The new paint colors are consistent with the rest of the recently renovated parts of the historic building. They were selected by the Rediscovering City Hall Committee in 2008. The overall chamber rehabilitation is costing about $600,000.