Cullman city officials and employees are making preparations for what will be the fourth renovation/remodeling project at City Hall in the last 15 years.

The city council Monday voted to seek bids for the renovation of the former jail area, located on the east side of City Hall, in addition to the remodeling and renovation of the fire department’s living quarters and offices.

The renovations, which are expected to be completed in phases during the next year, are expected to cost in the neighborhood of $325,000.

“Our accounting department has been operating in cramped quarters for a number of years now and the first thing we’re going to do is move accounting to what was the old jail area,” said Cullman Mayor Don Green. “When the new detention center was built by the county we entered into an agreement with them to house city inmates. The old cells, which once comprised our city jail, will be removed and that area basically gutted and remodeled to house our accounting department.”

Once the jail area has been remodeled to accommodate accounting, the police department’s security/information office, currently located in the center of City Hall, will be relocated to the former accounting area. The space vacated by the police department will then revert to the fire department, which plans to utilize it as a living area for firefighters.

The first major remodeling of City Hall took place in 1992 when both the north and south wings were added to accommodate administration and municipal court. That project was followed by a remodeling and renaming of the City Hall Auditorium for City Clerk Lucille Galin, and later, a remodeling of the municipal court.

“The basic plan for this renovation is to clear and remodel the old jail to house accounting. The police department’s security office and holding area will move where accounting is now, and the space vacated by the police department will be utilized by the fire department,” Green said. “The fire department’s current sleeping area is not adequate. Also, this additional area will enable the fire department to expand its engine bay. We also plan to add a decontamination area, which the department does not currently have, as well as a classroom area.”

Green said the planned renovations will provide all three departments with much needed space, which in turn will enable those departments to function more efficiently.

“Our firefighters will be more comfortable, and all three departments will have more space, which will enable us to be more efficient,” Green said. “We’re all excited about the renovations. Of course as the work proceeds we’ll need to make adjustments to accommodate the work crews, while continuing to serve the public.”

Police Chief Kenny Culpepper said he is excited about the renovations and pending move of the security office so that it is in closer proximity to dispatch.

“Our window is located in the center of the building. We will be moving to the northside of the building and across the hall from dispatch, which is good for us because it will mean all of our offices will be in close proximity to one another,” Culpepper said. “Also, because the security office will be adjacent to the north entrance to City Hall, we will basically be able to lock down the building at 4 p.m., which will provide an added security measure we haven’t been able to provide in the past.”

Culpepper said the scenario is a “win-win” situation for everyone.

“Because of this renovation, accounting will have the additional space it needs, our office will be located in a better spot from a security standpoint, and the fire department will be able to expand its facilities.”

Interim Fire Chief Mike Hackney, said everyone in his department is excited about the planned renovations and are appreciative of the commitment made by the mayor and city council.

“It’s going to give us an opportunity to better arrange the station to be more functional for the men. This will give us a much needed classroom area, and we will have a decontamination area that we’ve never had before,” Hackney said. “The renovation will also provide us additional room to house our trucks, which has been a concern.”

Over the years, the fire department added a store room and bedroom area to the back of the engine bay. With fire engines getting bigger, the space available to house those trucks has gotten smaller with time.

“When the police department area becomes available, we’ll be able to reorganize our space. We plan to move our living quarters to that area, which will enable us to restore the engine bay to its original size,” Hackney said. “Our current living quarters are designed to house six firemen. This new design would permit us to have as many as eight if necessary.”

Hackney said the department also plans to rearrange its office space and kitchen areas.

“We will relocate our kitchen to where the jail kitchen was at one time. We will also add an office for a deputy chief and captain,” Hackney said. “Our living quarters will also be arranged in such a way that if at anytime we were to have a female firefighter we would be able to arrange to house her in separate quarters.”

The only inconvenience during renovations, Hackney said, will be in arranging temporary living quarters for firefighters while the work is being done.

“Our plan is to put temporary trailers along side City Hall and have the men live out of temporary housing during the duration of the remodeling,” Hackney said. “We’re working to get that temporary housing set up as quickly as possible so we don’t delay the work once a contract has been let.”