The Last Day: Casper City Hall Almost Empty for Renovation

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Aug 05, 2023

The Last Day: Casper City Hall Almost Empty for Renovation

A stack of filing cabinets, a lone piece of paper on a desk, and a lot of empty

A stack of filing cabinets, a lone piece of paper on a desk, and a lot of empty offices everywhere in Casper City Hall.

City Hall, 200 N. Center St., closed Friday for probably the next 13 months as general contractor Caspar Building Systems conducts and oversees a $5.2 million renovation of the 45-year-old building.

The late 1970s building features 1970s-identifiable mustard yellow seats in the council chambers, lots of wood paneling, and pretty-hip red-orange tile wall framing the elevator.

The City's Buildings and Structures Supervisor Matt Thomason said didn't know about the fate of the seats, but said the tile wall will stay.

Other remaining items included an easel with a chart for "2019 Council Goals," communications equipment straight out of a 1980s television crime show, a steel model of a BMW Z4 Roadster, and mid-1970s mockups of what City Hall might look like.

One peculiar feature will not stay, alas.

A little-used exit from the City Council's work session area leads to a spiral staircase with a thick rope handrail into the City Manager's office on the second floor.

The work session area itself will be greatly expanded.

"We'll be working in the next week or so to finish emptying the things that we want to salvage out of the building -- extra furniture and TVs and that sort of stuff," Thomason said.

Much of what isn't sent to the temporary offices will be put in storage, and the city may conduct an auction what isn't used, he said.

The contractor will take over June 5, he said.

The renovation marks a juncture in the city's history, Thomason said. "This is a building that served the city a long time and it's served the city well for a long time. Hopefully with these changes it will continue to serve the city in a useful capacity for a long time."

Outside, the renovation will include some landscaping on the east side of the building and an emergency exit on the north side, Thomason said.

The blond brick will remain, he added.

Many of the interior changes are needed, such as enhanced security.

The public will be able to access the building only through one entrance, for example.

The renovation will update the building's infrastructure to conform to updated safety codes.

The mechanical upgrades would be difficult if the city offices weren't vacated, he said. "There's no better time than now to do it with everybody outside."