DeLand, FL – The place where the Volusia County Council meets gets a facelift nearly 30 years after it was first built.
The new Frank T. Bruno Council Chambers made its debut during Thursday’s VCC meeting following an over 2-month renovation that cost nearly $600,000. It was the first time the chambers have been renovated since it was built in 1988.
The VCC signed off on the renovations 6-0 during a meeting last November, with construction beginning a few weeks later.
District 2 Representative Josh Wagner did not vote because the company who did the renovation – Hall Construction of Daytona Beach – is owned by his uncle-in-law and brother-in-law. The Democrat removed himself from the room during the entire discussion and vote because the Volusia County Charter would’ve required him to vote if he was in the room.
Hall was the only company to submit a qualified bid for the project, which came out to $599,500, according to county records.
Among the renovations include touch screens and a new audiovisual system as well as a complete overhaul of nearly every part of the chambers to ensure that it complies with Americans with Disabilities Act standards.
Some of the new features – which include speakers, wiring, controls and 4 high-definition monitors – didn’t work as well as hoped on Thursday despite Volusia County Manager Jim Dinneen telling the council that he thinks these new features will “set the standard” long-term for how government should interact with its citizens, especially at the local level.
The video stream – a feature that wasn’t available in the past – crashed soon after the meeting began due to bandwidth issues and staff wasn’t able to get it to work again. Dinneen promised it’ll be fixed by the next VCC meeting on February 18th.
Other than a few minor glitches and some buffering issues, the Internet audio stream worked much better on Thursday than the old version, which often caused glitches and forced county staff to call recesses so that technicians could address the issues.
Other improvements include a new carpet, more energy efficient fixtures and lighting control, a wider dais for public comments and presentations, new touch panels, a new 70-inch monitor and projector screens.
All VCC meetings in December and January were held at the Historic Volusia County Courthouse while construction was taking place.
Photos above and below of the new chambers are courtesy of Volusia County.
Copyright 2016 Southern Stone Communications.