Chapel Hill Town Hall renovations progress

Town Hall’s water damage is being washed away as renovations to the building have begun to finish up this month.

Chapel Hill began renovating Town Hall in May to repair damage it sustained from flooding in June 2013. The renovations are expected to be completed by the end of November and cost $1.2 million.

“The ballpark number that has been presented has been about $1.2 million,” said Catherine Lazorko, a spokeswoman for the town.

Some parts of the building that have been closed, including council chambers, will start opening back up next week. Assistant to the town manager Jason Damweber said the renovated building will include a new life safety plan, which is a of action for emergency situations, said Matt Sullivan, a legal adviser to the town.

“Those plans are in place to mitigate the damage inflicted on property to save lives,” Sullivan said.

The plan includes some bulletproofing of the dais, the large desk where town council members sit, and added emergency exit doors in the council chambers with a bridge to Stephens Street.

The safety improvements to the council chambers should cost about $66,000, Lazorko said in an email.

“I think that safety plans are logical given the things that have occurred in our communities across the United States,” Sullivan said.

A safety plan existed in the old Town Hall, but the renovations gave the town the chance to update it.

“To leave the building unsecured when we have an opportunity to improve it doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Sullivan said.

The cost of the renovations could fluctuate as construction finishes up.

“There have been a lot of estimates but not invoices, so we don’t know what the true costs are,” Sullivan said.

The Town Council has been meeting in the county’s Southern Human Services building since Town Hall was flooded.

“It was the impetus for having to redo the entire bottom floor, including where business management was housed,” Damweber said.

The council chamber will be available for use for the council’s first meeting Monday.

The renovation involves construction on each floor of Town Hall.

“With the flood, we had a chance to re-look at things, and that’s sort of been the main interest,” Sullivan said.

The Town Hall is still undergoing renovations on the third floor, which is in the demolition stage before furniture and walls are erected.

“Right now we are ahead of schedule and right on budget,” Damweber added.

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