By Terry Schrimscher, contributing writer
The Springville City Council discussed renovations to the city’s Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) building in a work session before its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, July 15. The goal for the renovations is to make the facility more appealing for rentals.
Ashley Lyons, director of parks and recreation, presented a proposal to upgrade the building during the work session. Currently, the building is rented two or three times a month and is also used for storage.
“We want to address some of the major concerns our citizens have had when they have rented the building,” said Lyons. “It’s just the basic aesthetics of it. The floor tiles are coming up. The walls are damaged, and the ceiling tiles are damaged. It’s used a lot and is looking a bit dull.”
Lyons presented a plan to remove the existing tile floors in favor of concrete flooring. She also proposed painting the interior and exterior walls and replacing the broken ceiling tiles. The initial bid for the project was $41,700, but no other bids have been presented to date.
“I feel like it is not being used enough and people would want to use it more if we fixed it up,” said Lyons.
The city remodeled the interior and replaced the roof several years ago but, according to Lyons, the upgrades and repairs to the building could generate revenue for the city.
The council agreed that the city could benefit from having a facility that is easier to rent for events but asked to move the discussion to the first meeting in August to give Lyons and her staff time to define the scope of work and seek more bids to comply with current bid laws.
New Council Member
Lyons also introduced Rick Hopkins to the council. He serves as athletic director and assistant parks director for the city. Hopkins joined the staff in May.
Regular Meeting
Mayor William Isley opened the regular meeting after the VFW discussion and moved quickly through the agenda with the council approving $930 to repair exhaust fans in the middle school gymnasium. The council also approved $1,500 for e-book software for the library and $400 for the renewal of mapping software for the city.
The council also approved funds from the capital reserves for the purchase of an excavator requested by the director of public works, Earl Peoples. The equipment will cost $61,742 from an approved state vendor and will replace older equipment owned by the city.
To close the meeting, Mayor Isley allowed Laura Cheney time to address the council. Cheney has managed the Springville Library Foundation since its inception. She is moving with her family to Colorado.
“The library foundation has met its initial goal,” said Cheney. She announced the foundation has decided to disband and presented the mayor and council with a check for $30,722. In keeping with the wishes of the donors, Cheney asked for $5,000 to be used for materials for the library and the remaining funds to be held for future building needs.
After a discussion on how best to honor the requests of the donors, the meeting was adjourned.
