Aldermen approved a resolution authorizing the construction of a dais for the board to sit at during their meetings — similar to those seen at aldermanic meetings in the nearby cities of Crestwood or Sunset Hills.
“We have been trying to upgrade the systems here in City Hall,” city clerk Theresa Pfyl said. “It would work in our favor to give the board the prestige that it needs, to actually have a dais instead of sitting at these tables in a U-shape with light shining on people’s eyes.”
The dais will be at floor level rather than raised, since “the raised dais was cost-prohibitive” according to Pfyl. Original conversations involved a curved dais table, though the design is still being finalized. No other renovations to the room are planned as part of the project. Pfyl says that the addition of speakers and microphones would likely be considered at a later date.
“We’re going to do this slowly,” Pfyl said. “We’re going to start with the dais, and then we’re going to come to the board to find out if we want to upgrade to speakers and microphones. It’s difficult — we all know that — for people in the audience to hear us, and it’s difficult for us to hear people.”
The resolution that the city passed on April 20 contracted Advanced Ergonomic Concepts, Inc. to construct the dais table. The project was expected to cost $13,695, including $9,895 for construction of the table and an additional $3,800 for installation. However, according to Pfyl, this contractor and price may be changing.
“After last meeting, we did encounter an unexpected issue with the original materials quote, which has required us to revisit vendors and explore alternative designs,” Pfyl said. More details on the exact pricing or vendor are forthcoming.
Currently, the board sits at folding tables and uses a projector to see guest speakers on Zoom, such as Green Park accountant Anna Cadmus, who joins meetings virtually to give a monthly report. With the new dais set up, Pfyl hopes that a larger television screen on the opposite wall could be used for Zoom guests like Cadmus.
Green Park City Hall has sat at 11100 Mueller Road, Suites 5 and 6, since 2014.
