City Hall remodeling is job well done
By Chuck Doud
The Madera Tribune
A tip of the hat to the city for a good job done on the remodeling of City Hall. The space that became available when the police department moved from City Hall to its new headquarters on C Street has been put to good use.
The finance department, which handles accounting for city funds and collections for utilities, has become much more user-friendly. That department now has its own entrance (the former police entrance), and plenty of windows for customer service, so people don’t have to stand in line for long periods just to leave their money. The employees of the finance department now have adequate places to work instead of being scrunched into inadequate cubicles.
City attorney Richard Denhalter and his staff now have offices in City Hall instead of half a block away at the Madera Housing Authority.
The city planning department now has a lobby counter to help people who are seeking permits. People seeking help from that department used to have to crowd into a small space not much bigger than a walk-in closet to get waited on.
City Clerk Sonya Alvarez now has a counter where people can be waited on, which is an improvement not only for customers, but also for the clerk, who used to share office space with the vault.
City Administrator David Tooley and the City Council spent the minimum amount necessary to make use of the space — saving the city money while substantially upgrading work spaces and services for citizens. They deserve credit for a good job.
