By Alex Davis
The Courier-Journal
Jeffersonville’s move to a new government building on Aug. 7 is shaping up to reflect two decorating styles — one with new furniture and one without.


The seven members of the City Council have agreed to spend about $21,350 to outfit their new personal offices with cherry-laminate desks, vinyl chairs and bookcases.

And Clerk-Treasurer Peggy Wilder has ordered $54,000 worth of furniture, including mahogany end tables, a three-seat sofa and desks.

But Mayor Rob Waiz said in an interview that other areas of government — including the city engineer, the planning and zoning office and the building commissioner — will be asked to haul their current furniture to the new building at Quartermaster Station on 10th Street.

Waiz said his first attempt to solicit furniture bids for those offices was rejected because of advertising problems. Bid were solicited a second time last month, but Waiz said the only offer — a $111,307 proposal(cqdavis) from The Office Supply Co. of Jeffersonville — will not be accepted, in part because the cost was too high.

“We need to scale back from that,” Waiz said, noting that some of the chairs would have cost more than $600 apiece.

Waiz also said he wished that the council and clerk-treasurer would have joined him in buying furniture, in case a better deal was available with a larger order.

But Councilman John Perkins said the furniture issue and other matters related to the new City Hall could have gone “a lot smoother and a lot easier” if Waiz had done a better job communicating with the council.

“It’s a shame that we’re going to be taking furniture that’s 30 years old and worn out and dilapidated and putting it into a brand-new building,” Perkins said.

The clerk-treasurer and council also used The Office Supply Co. for their furnishings. Jeff Frey, the company’s owner, said the new equipment will be installed and ready by Aug. 4, when the city begins moving from its present building at 501 E. Court Ave.

Frey said he prepared his bid for the mayor using specifications set by The Estopinal Group, an architectural firm that designed the bid packages.

The council members do not have offices now. According to sales information provided by Frey, each will receive $3,062 worth of furniture. Furniture for the conference room they will share will cost an additional $5,900.

Wilder and her five employees will get the same chairs as the council members — vinyl models that cost $399 each. She also ordered two mahogany end tables at $180 each for a reception area, and a 42-inch round cherry table, also for the reception area, for $219.

Wilder said in an interview that she wanted to buy equipment that was cost-effective but that also would handle a high volume of traffic and last about 30 years.

“We didn’t go top-end on everything, but we also didn’t go bottom end,” she said. “We deal with gobs of paperwork, so we needed the most efficient furniture possible.”

Wilder also said she felt left out of the City Hall project by Waiz, and decided to buy her own furniture to make sure the job was done right.

Cardboard boxes were piled high in the clerk-treasurer’s office yesterday as employees packed for the move. Barbara Hollis, a longtime employee who also serves on the County Council, showed off her existing office chair, which has cracks and chips in the armrests that she said pinch her skin on a daily basis.

“If you don’t have a good work space and good seating, you don’t have good production,” said Hollis, who supports buying the new furniture.

Waiz said he hopes to have office equipment for other city departments under his supervision by September. He said the redevelopment department is now using metal desks that need to be replaced, and the city “desperately needs” new chairs for a conference table.

Waiz said he wants to spend $25,000 to $30,000 for new equipment, or about one-fourth the amount in the recent bid from The Office Supply Co.

Chester Hicks, the planning and zoning director, said he didn’t expect the lack of new furniture at City Hall to be a major problem. He said his current desk and chair are fine, and he may borrow from another department for one of his employees.

Russ Segraves, the building commissioner, said he planned to take some of the clerk-treasurer’s old furniture, and mix and match with other departments for the rest.

Bob Miller, the city engineer, said he didn’t ask for new furniture and predicted it would be “no big deal” to bring his old chairs and desk to the new building.
“It’s served me for 15 years,” Miller said, sitting at his desk in front of a stack of boxes. “I don’t know why it won’t last another 25.”

Reporter Alex Davis can be reached at (812) 949-4031.