Upgrades to Sunset Hills’ city hall may be on the way after the Board of Aldermen reviewed a plan for $570,000 in changes July 13.

City Engineer Bryson Baker said the plan, focused on safety and security, was created in 2017 with L and D Architecture.

“The way our city hall is set up, it’s not really secure. Anyone can just walk in to any of the offices,” Baker said.

Baker said after looking at safety changes, staff thought they might as well update outdated areas in the building. This includes new paint, tiling, furniture and the addition of Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant ramps. For meetings that draw larger crowds, televisions would be added in the lobby to livestream them.

He said an important safety change would be the addition of a transaction window and a buzzer at the public works and administrative offices. 

“It just gives us more control of who comes into our offices,” Baker said. 

The plan costs roughly $570,000 total — $60,000 for both administrative and public works offices and $450,000 for the lobby and aldermanic chambers. Baker said the numbers have a “little cushion” because prices may have changed since 2017. 

Ward 3 Alderman Randall Epperson suggested the board approve security changes first, then focus on allocating more money when possible. Baker said the board has full control of how the money is spent and when, but he recommends designating $100,000 in the capital fund each year until the total can be paid off.

Ward 2 Alderman Casey Wong said he would rather see an “a la carte approach” and Mayor Pat Fribis said the board would like to see some more accurate and broken down prices before moving forward with any plan.