As Robin the Boy Wonder might have said on the old Batman television show, it's curtains for the Nodaway County Administration Center.
Well, actually more like pleated fabric window shades.
Completed in 2009, the new county headquarters at Fourth and Market streets in Maryville features large, double-paned glass windows that allow sunlight to flood cheerfully into the first- and second-floor offices of elected officials, employees and MU Extension staffers.
A little too much sunlight in fact. Watching the County Commission work during one of its twice-weekly sessions on a clear Wednesday or Friday morning can be an uncomfortably illuminating experience unless you've brought along a pair of dark glasses.
Though shedding light on government is usually a good thing, the commissioners said this week that several of their colleagues have complained about distracting glare from glass panels on the east and south sides of the building.
Taking a dim view of the situation, all three commissioners sat in on a brief presentation Wednesday by Elizabeth Kamstra of the House of Colors, a locally owned interior decor business at 103 S. Main.
Kamstra provided informal bids and samples for a variety of window treatments that included vertical panels, mini-blinds, louvres and roll-ups. In the end, the commissioners tentatively opted for pleated fabric pending submission of a more detailed cost estimate.
The shades will cost the county around $116 each for 39 windows, though the commissioners are hoping to keep the total price under $4,500 in order to avoid a formal bid process, which is required for expenditures over that amount.
"We wanted to keep this local as much as we could," said North District Commissioner Robert Westfall.
In addition to shades for the Administration Center, the commission also held a pre-bid meeting Wednesday with contractors interested in painting corridors, staircases, woodwork and a small upstairs courtroom at the courthouse across the street.
The painting is associated with the recent installation of a new handicap-accessible elevator that required extensive remodeling to the west end of the 130-year-old structure, especially on the second floor.
Both the painting and window shade projects are scheduled for completion this winter. The improvements will be paid for with existing maintenance funds.
