At a recent Fenton City Council meeting, Mayor Sue Osborn thanked the full-service design and build firm Rhoads & Johnson for its work making changes to the lobby of City Hall that protected the health of city employees and customers during the pandemic and increased security at the same time.
Osborn presented the firm’s president, Kevin Johnson, with a plaque that reads: “In recognition of your assistance and generous contributions to the City of Fenton during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
“We’re fortunate to have companies like yours in our city,” Osborn said. “And we really appreciate what you did for us.”
The construction company rapidly turned the nearly completely open lobby, where visitors sometimes loomed over seated front office staff, into a more professional environment reminiscent of a bank, with elevated stations for the clerks and a large glass wall separating them from visitors.
City Manager Lynn Markland said Rhoads & Johnson was particularly responsive at a time when firms were being contacted by an endless stream of businesses and municipalities seeking to make their workplaces safer based on what was being learned about the Covid-19 virus.
Kevin Johnson, who has been president of the firm for 23 of his 26 years there, said his team was really engaged in helping build a safer City Hall lobby that did not detract from the building’s looks.
“It was really meaningful for us to be able to help with this,” he said. “This is the front door to city government, and it was a high honor to help in the city’s time of need.”