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Committee approves $175,000 for new furniture and sound masking at Aurora 311 center
Summary
The committee approved a $175,000 contract to furnish Aurora's 311 customer service center and install sound-masking technology after a rapid rise in call volume; staff said phased installation should limit disruptions and the contract includes a roughly 5% contingency.
Tony Martinez, the city's chief communication marketing officer, told the committee on March 23 that the city is seeking approval to buy new workstations and sound-masking technology for the 311 customer service center to reduce noise and improve call taker performance. Martinez said the 311 operation grew to nine full-time call takers plus two supervisors and that call volume rose by about 40,000 calls over the past year following the 311 launch.
Martinez said the current layout has low cubicle walls and very high ceilings that amplify sound. The proposed workstations will have higher partitions with a midlevel transparent panel so staff can see one another while the top portion of the partition uses acoustic cloth to absorb sound. The project includes sound-masking equipment that increases ambient noise in a controlled way to limit the travel of individual voices between stations.
The purchase is proposed through Interiors for Business on the OMNIA cooperative contract and is consistent with furniture used in recent city remodels, Martinez said. The staff recommendation is for a $175,000 contract that includes about a 5% contingency. Martinez estimated 6–8 weeks for order lead time and a phased installation that would make full installation roughly a 12-week effort from order to finish; staff said they will phase installation to minimize disruption and can temporarily shift some staff to remote or other areas during installation.
Committee members asked about possible additional acoustic treatments for the high ceilings. One member commended Martinez for using images in the presentation and suggested the contingency could be used to add inexpensive ceiling- or wall-mounted acoustic elements if partitions alone do not fully address noise. Martinez said facilities and public works will coordinate the installation schedule and adjustments.
The committee moved to approve the contract and the motion passed. The order will be placed following formal council approval and staff will coordinate phased installation to limit disruptions to 311 operations.
