Council reviews conference center remodel plans, focuses on technology, room layouts and naming

The Addison City Council discussed near-final design details for the Addison Conference Center remodel, with staff seeking council direction on technology infrastructure for the chambers and work session room and input on a future name for the building.

Bill Holley, Director of General Services, told council “the main thing we wanted to talk about was the technology and the room layouts” because the project is at the stage where power, data and structural locations for screens or ceiling-mounted devices must be decided. Holley and staff emphasized that routing power and data during this design phase is far easier and cleaner than retrofitting later.

The presentation described two rooms as primary design focuses: the council chambers (where the layout is largely fixed) and a separate work session room that will sit north of the chambers and can be laid out to improve sight lines and audience audio. Chad Hancock, Assistant Director of IT, joined staff to explain broadcast, camera and voting-system considerations and to note constraints such as microphone/speaker placement and avoiding feedback.

Council discussion centered on tradeoffs. Several council members said they prefer retaining their current portable devices and packet workflows and were neutral or skeptical about adopting full digital voting at each seat; one councilmember said they were “not a fan of the voting software.” Others favored adding recessed or two-tiered dais monitors to hide clutter and improve line of sight. Staff said they will provision power and data in floors and walls so the council can adopt additional technology later.

The council also discussed signage and the building name. Staff asked whether the remodeled building should be called Town Hall or receive a different historic or descriptive name. Councilmembers discussed options, including “Town Hall,” “Addison Civic Center” and historical names such as Stonegate Hall; several favored calling the former Town Hall building “Addison Finance Building” once departments relocate. No formal vote on the building name was recorded; council asked staff to return with options.

Staff gave a near-term schedule: the construction manager-at-risk is finalizing subcontractor bids and staff plans to bring a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) to council on Feb. 25; construction would start after council approval. Staff estimated the design/administrative phase followed by roughly six months of construction, depending on the GMP and schedule.

Staff requested additional council feedback on dais layouts, whether members would want monitors at their desks, how voting interfaces should behave, and how to balance public-facing displays with individual devices. Council members asked that audio and sight-line problems be prioritized in the design.

Next steps: staff will record council preferences on dais and work-session technology and return with the GMP for council approval on Feb. 25, and later present detailed product choices and signage recommendations as the design progresses.