City Council returns ‘home’ after four years, renovation

Nearly four years after Hurricane Ian drove it from City Hall, Punta Gorda City Council is finally home. 

Council members returned Aug. 26 for their first meeting in the newly renovated chambers since the September 2022 storm. 

“We are back, and it’s wonderful to be here,” Mayor Dr. Debi Lux said at the start of the meeting. She thanked city staff for their work. 

“This looks quite amazing. It’s beautiful for us to be back here.” 

Carlo Gargiulo, chaplain for the Punta Gorda Fire Department, led the invocation and also expressed gratitude for the return to the chambers. 

“We no longer have to wander from one place to the next,” he said. 

After Hurricane Ian struck Sept. 28, 2022, City Council and city boards met at the Military Heritage Museum’s 247-seat Gulf Theater for about 2½ years at a cost of $4,200 per month. Meetings later moved to Punta Gorda Charlotte Library and, on several occasions when more space was needed, Burnt Store Presbyterian Church. Most recently, meetings were held at the city-owned Laishley Community Room at 120 Laishley Court. 

The 75-seat council chambers are at 326 W. Marion Ave. in the 1978 addition adjacent to Historic City Hall. 

Avant Construction began the $308,862 renovation of the chambers in March, completing the work within the existing footprint and including audiovisual upgrades, City Manager Melissa Reichert said. 

After Hurricane Ian, city officials anticipated demolishing the 1978 addition, with the former City Council favoring construction of a new addition at an estimated cost of about $16 million. 

The proposal drew public criticism over its cost to taxpayers, with opponents dubbing the project the city’s “Taj Mahal.” Four members of the previous council later left office following the 2024 election, and the newly constituted council opted to renovate the complex rather than build a new addition. 

Resident Niles Higgins revisited the controversy during public comment Aug. 26. 

“I want to thank you that we didn’t have to have the Taj Mahal and spend $16-plus million,” Higgins said. 

City Council in April awarded Parker Mudgett Smith Architects a $359,000 contract to evaluate and design renovations for Historic City Hall, which was built in 1927. The cost of that renovation will be determined after the architectural firm completes its evaluation. 

The city also hired Advanced Roofing and Sheet Metal to install new roofs on both buildings for $186,000 to better protect them from future storms and water intrusion. 

The City Hall buildings have sustained damage from multiple hurricanes over the years, beginning with Hurricane Charley in 2004. After Hurricane Ian shuttered the complex, subsequent storms — including hurricanes Helene and Milton — brought heavy rainfall that worsened conditions. 

Officials have cited water intrusion, failing electrical and plumbing systems, potential mold and deteriorating plaster among the problems. 

Funding for work on Historic City Hall and its addition will come from $11,252,971 allocated through a voter-approved 1% sales tax program, although the full amount is not dedicated solely to City Hall improvements.