CITY COUNCIL: $960,000 remodel plan reconsidered

City Council is expected to scale down plans for council chambers Monday

by Elisabeth Traugott

Six months after approving a $1 million plan to remodel its meeting room and outfit its chambers with the latest in high-tech gadgetry, the Palo Alto City Council is having second thoughts. The City Council will reconsider that decision Monday night--in no small part due to the overwhelmingly negative response from city residents.

After the council made its decision on May 5, "The community went berserk," said Council member Micki Schneider.

The staff had recommended a $320,000 plan that called for adding new carpeting and new benches for the public. It also called for relocating the TV booth and adding an upgraded sound system to the council chambers, located at the Civic Center at 250 University Ave.

Instead, the council opted to go upscale and high-tech, approving a $960,000 plan that included a high-tech audio/visual component with a digital overhead projection system and individual monitors for council members.

The sole dissenting vote for the plan last May was cast by Council member Dick Rosenbaum who called the plan "unconscionable," especially while the city faces a backlog of capital improvement projects.

"I just thought it was too much money relative to the improvements sought, and I didn't see the need for the fancy audio/visual equipment," Rosenbaum said Wednesday. "I assume the staff is coming up with a proposal which is more in line with the amount they originally suggested."

Schneider said steps should be taken to make the council chambers more citizen-friendly, including improving audio visual aids and replacing the red benches in favor of more comfortable ones.

Council members have also voiced concern in the past about their elevated position in relation to both the public and the staff. Schneider said staff are often referred to as being in "the pit."

Schneider hopes an investment can be made in the council members' well-being. "I would love to see more comfortable chairs for council members," she said.

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