City Hall Annex offices get makeover

Use it up
Wear it out
Make it do
Or do without

This World War II ditty encouraged those on America's home front to be frugal to support the war effort.

The partitions separating the office spaces at the rear of the first floor of the City Hall Annex certainly had lived up to the first three lines of the ditty. But Prema Achari, Coordinator of the WIC program, largest of the three agencies housed there, was not going to 'do without.'

"We really needed to provide adequate space and privacy for our staff to meet with clients," Achari said, "as well as systematize the area set aside for our records, and create a play space for small children while their parents wait for their appointments."

A $34,000 grant from the State's Department of Health and Senior Services allowed a complete redesign of the space and the installation of new wall dividers. The entire space was painted, using a crew from the Department of Corrections 'SLAP' program.

"The new arrangement not only makes the interview process more private," says Mayor Al McWilliams, "but the waiting areas have been arranged to be more convenient for the clients of both the WIC and Vital Statistics."

The large, high-ceilinged room is bright and airy and house the Recreation Division and the Vital Statistics office as well as the WIC program. The room was originally the printing plant of the Seventh Day Baptist denomination, whose world headquarters occupied the building.

The city has used it as an Annex for more than 15 years, and the partitions being replaced date from that time.


Keywords: Plainfield, City Hall, remodeling