T-L Photo/SHELLEY HANSON SHOWN HERE is the finished renovation project at the mayor’s office in Martins Ferry.

MARTINS FERRY — The Martins Ferry mayor’s office got a makeover that has made the space lighter, brighter and more welcoming to visitors.

Mayor John Davies and city employees Jeremy Shrodes and Donnie Headley have been working on the front reception space of the office during the past few weeks. This is the area where Codes Administrator Betty Suto works.

Since the city building was closed to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic, Davies decided to use the time to renovate the space. Davies, who has worked as a contractor, took down the dark wall paneling and replaced it with drywall. He also installed a drop ceiling, put in new flooring, new wiring and painted the new drywall.

The furniture also has been rearranged inside to take better advantage of the space.

“We redid the whole thing. Most people see that office first. We wanted to get out of the 1960s and into the 21st century,” Davies said of the office’s new look.

The main mayor’s office space where Davies’ desk, phone and computer and conference table are situated remains the same, for now. It is located next to the reception area. Davies said in the future he would like to redo that space as well.

He also has plans to repaint the first floor interior walls to give them a clean, fresh look. He noted leftover paint from the mayor’s office project was used to repaint the walls inside the utility office on the first floor.

Davies said he spent about $1,200 on materials for the project. That money was taken from the buildings and grounds fund. Had the city hired a contractor to do the job instead it probably would have cost $10,000, estimated Davies, who operated a construction, trucking and real estate company for 35 years.

“I did it in my spare time. I came in on weekends just to get it done. It paid off. It looks really nice and gives us a different image,” he said, noting his office often has officials from various agencies and levels of government visit for meetings.