By Wendy Marinaccio

The Los Altos Hills City Council will unveil final designs for the new town hall building at a public hearing tomorrow. Residents are invited to attend the meeting and comment on schematics for the site and the floor plan of the building, created by Los Altos-based Duxbury Architects.

The “modified rural” design, chosen in April by a vote of Los Altos Hills residents, has low roofs, large windows, exposed rafters and wide overhangs. Councilmember Breene Kerr said, “We’ve maintained an open, inviting feel with a lot of natural lighting.”

Residents’ input was incorporated into the project surveys which selected the basic style and design of the building and an active committee staffed by councilmembers and residents. Kerr, who served on the town hall committee, said, “We’ve gone through a very inclusive process involving the entire town and meeting with the neighbors.”

The final plan delineates a building just over 8,000 square feet with three separate meeting rooms. Council chambers will be expandable on demand by means of a moveable wall. The total budget for the town hall is $3.75 million, including the design, contractor and staffing relocation costs, a 25 percent to 40 percent reduction from the originally proposed mission-style building, according to Kerr. A construction management firm was hired to ensure cost control in the design phase.

The building includes a 10-kilowatt solar panel. Heat can be deposited or drawn from underground depending on weather conditions. A beam in front of the building will help fund this green energy program. Kerr said the beam will display 600 tiles that residents can buy for $250 each and decorate however they like.

Los Altos Hills will put out construction bids after tomorrow’s public hearing. The town hopes to receive bids by February and break ground in the spring. Construction is expected to take one year.

Thursday’s council meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at Los Altos Hills Town Hall, 26379 Fremont Road.