By Rebecca Gaunt

The City of Kennesaw’s government offices are getting a makeover.

City Council will vote Monday on the construction contract for the second floor buildout of the public works facility on Moon Station Road. The city is using federal funds from the American Rescue Plan to cover the renovation. Much of the city staff will relocate there from the overcrowded workspace at City Hall.

Croy Engineering recommended approval of the nearly $400,000 contract with Spratlin & Sons Construction. It covers demolition, reconstruction, parking lot expansion, drainage and concrete structures, retaining walls, fences, and a security gate.

Kennesaw City Hall, located on  J.O. Stephenson Ave., is getting its own sprucing up. At Monday’s work session, Assistant City Manager Marty Hughes told council members that Cassandra Buckalew Interiors and CSC Design have been recruited to select flooring and painting materials and oversee the process of painting interiors and installing new carpets and vinyl luxury tile.

“Most of the work will be done in the evening after hours so we can provide minimal disruption to staff and to our citizens,” Hughes said.

The topic was on the agenda for discussion only Monday, but Hughes said the contracts for different aspects of the project will go out for bid and come back for votes.

In other business, Finance Director Gina Auld requested authorization of adjustments totaling $828,220 to the 2022 city budget.

“Every year we present any budget adjustments at the end of the year that affect our annual comprehensive report. In the report you cannot be over budget at the function level so we have three areas we need to adjust,” she said.

The city had not originally included emergency funds from the American Rescue Plan in the budget, but has applied them to a variety of projects over the last several months.

The city also had an unexpectedly fruitful stream of hotel/motel tax revenue from Expedia, Airbnb, and other vacation rentals totaling $57,700. The third item is $5,000 in cemetery expenditures for projects that went over budget.

Also on the agenda:

• Two separate applicants are seeking approval for massage therapy business licenses: Lavida Massage on Old Highway 41 and Now Salon on Cobb Parkway. 

• Public Works Director Ricky Stewart is requesting that two city vehicles, a 2001 New Holland LB75B backhoe and a 2004 Ford F-650, be declared as surplus and sold on the open market.

City Council meetings are Mondays at City Hall in Council Chambers at 6:30 p.m. Meetings are streamed live on the City of Kennesaw Facebook page.

Rebecca Gaunt earned a degree in journalism from the University of Georgia and a master’s degree in education from Oglethorpe University. After teaching elementary school for several years, she returned to writing. She lives in Marietta with her husband, son, two cats, and a dog. In her spare time, she loves to read, binge Netflix and travel.