After being presented with four options for how to potentially reconfigure the offices of Edmonton city councillors and support staff, a city committee voted to approve a plan to make only minor renovations to city hall on Monday.
The city’s council services committee considered making significant changes to address a number of potential issues in the future, including the possibility there will be more city councillors.
The options presented to the committee ranged in cost from $500,000 to more than $5 million. The priciest option presented suggested building a new second-floor wing at city hall for councillors’ offices in addition to the existing wing.
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However, councillors on the committee decided at the end of the day that the pricier options were not necessary.
“We have offices that are changing, you know, the number of staff that are working within each office under their existing budgets,” Councillor Andrew Knack said. “That does present some challenges of how to work within that space, but nothing that’s not easily overcome just through creative placements of furniture.”
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However, a minor renovation will still go ahead. A secondary door will be added before entering the councillors’ wing at city hall. The cost of that will be absorbed within existing budgets, the committee said.
The door is aimed at reducing noise.
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