For the first time in more than 35 years, the Council Chambers at Tacoma City Hall are poised to receive a major facilities upgrade.

Documents prepared by City of Tacoma staff show the upgrades will include the replacement of the existing carpeted wall with updated wall finishes, wood paneling at the front and rear of the Council Chambers, and new drywall and paint along the sides of the Council Chambers. In addition, the dais, presentation desks, and podium will be resurfaced, and the project will also provide for new carpeting and chair reupholstering.

In January, the City of Tacoma published a legal notice in the Tacoma Daily Index inviting contractors to respond to a Request For Proposals (RFP) to complete the project (see “City of Tacoma Public Works, Facilities Management Division REQUEST FOR,” Tacoma Daily Index, Jan. 19, 2016). According to information posted on the City of Tacoma’s Web site, 14 contractors responded to the RFP (see “Tacoma Bid Watch: Prairie Line Trail, Water Flume Line Trail, and building demolition,” Tacoma Daily Index, Feb. 11, 2016).

Tacoma City Council is scheduled to vote on a resolution to award a contract to Durels Construction & Management in the amount of $201,852.00 — plus sales tax, plus a 16 per cent contingency for a cumulative total of $234,148.32 — during a public meeting at 5 p.m. on Tues., March 15, at the Tacoma Municipal Building (City Council Chambers), located at 747 Market St., in downtown Tacoma. Copies of the agenda, staff memo, and resolution are available online here and here and here, respectively.

“The City Council Chambers has not undergone any aesthetic updates since it first opened December 18, 1979,” wrote City of Tacoma Public Works Director Kurtis Kingsolver in a Feb. 24 staff memo to Tacoma City Council. “This contract will provide for the replacement of finishes that are beyond their useful life.”

Similarly, in February, the City published a legal notice in the Tacoma Daily Index inviting contractors to respond to a RFP to upgrade the audio, visual, and sound equipment in the City of Tacoma’s Media and Communications Office (see “City of Tacoma City Manager’s Office- Media and Communications Office,” Tacoma Daily Index, Feb. 17, 2016). The project budget is estimated at $2.6 million. The bid deadline expires at 11 a.m. on Tues., March 22. More information is available online here.

UPDATE | WEDS., MARCH 16 @ 9:20 A.M. — Tacoma City Council approved the resolution (without comment) awarding the contract for the Council Chambers improvements.