After flooding forced city employees to relocate from Seymour City Hall in May, the public was invited to check out the renovations and a new year-round art exhibit around the halls of the building.
A chiller inside the building went down in March that caused a leak and damaged the interior of city hall. There also was no functioning heating or air conditioning.
Since May, those who worked inside city hall worked from the former Reedy Financial Group building at 211 N. Chestnut St.
The $1.55 million in renovations included a new HVAC system, new ceilings, new LED lighting, new flooring and wall covering, a new conference room and accessibility and security improvements.
Mayor Matt Nicholson said the building is “99% ready to go” and that it was nice to get back into the building.
“I think it turned out great,” he said. “It’s nice to have HVAC that works, to not have the headaches we’ve had to put a lot of Band-Aids on the building over the years. Sometimes, you have to patiently wait for the right moment. Obviously, the flood in the back sped up our process a little bit. It’s good to have it done.”
City hall received more visual improvements in the form of 51 pieces of art created by 36 local artists as part of a new rotating art exhibit.
The artwork can be seen on the walls across all of city hall and come in a variety of art mediums including embroidery, paintings, drawings and photographs. The age range of artists is from elementary school students to art students at Seymour High School to career artists.
Nicholson said he loves the variety of art displayed in his workplace.
“You walk down the hallway and you catch something new every time,” he said.
Jane Hays, administrative assistant to the mayor, spearheaded the project. She said the idea for having art in the building came in early 2020.
“Honestly, when I started, there was a lot of artwork that was here in ‘95 that was donated and moved here,” she said. “A lot of things were faded, and I wanted to freshen things up a little bit.”
Hays said she talked to local artist and Artistic Impressions owner Kevin Greene, and he provided five different canvas pieces to put on display inside city hall.
After acquiring the artwork, Hays started to get the idea of putting more up inside the city building, but she said the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the process.
When city hall needed remodeled, it gave Hays the perfect time to see her art exhibit vision come to life.
The walls of city hall serve as a showcase for local art, and some of it is for sale. Hays said the city receives no commission from art sales, and having the art on display was done as an act of courtesy. Two pieces were sold during the open house.
Seymour resident Ellaina Davidson attended the open house and had to the chance to see her own artwork on display. She thought the exhibit was a great way to showcase local talent.
“I just think it’s a good outlet for everybody in the community to get your art out there,” she said. “Art is a God-given, emotional outlet. I think it’s awesome to see everybody taking advantage of that and then having it on display. It’s really nice to see that.”
Her son, Miles, said he liked seeing the art on display because it encourages other people to express themselves.
“A lot of people, they have like stress or depression or all types of things that they feel,” he said. “If you ever think about it, art could help. I just feel like art just helps so many people with their feelings.”