Essex Council approved moving forward in developing a business case for funding a Town Hall expansion and consolidation plan on the current Town Hall footprint.

CAO Doug Sweet said staff was not asking for approval for a Town Hall, but looked to Council to approve a series of resolutions that would work towards a solution for the need of more space to accomodate staff, as there has been no formal resolution from Council to do so.

In addition, Council approved the current Town Hall footprint as the location for Town Hall Expansion and Consolidation, directed Administration to develop a business plan to fund the expansion and consolidation which would include the selling of the Gesto Office Building and utilizing the sale funds toward the expansion capital costs.

He said staff would likely come back to Council in the spring with a funding model for the expansion.

Council also awarded the development of construction drawings to Architecttura Architects and Engineers in the amount of $398,750.00 plus HST for the Town Hall Expansion and HVAC upgrades, to be funded through the Landfill Reserve.

Sweet noted that in 2016 Council approved funding to have an Office Accommodation Assessment completed for the Essex Municipal Building and the Gesto Office Building, which was formerly Fire Station 2 and now houses the staff within the Development Services Department. In the spring of that year, an RFP was issued and Stephenson Engineering was retained to complete the assessment.

The purpose of this review was to allow Council and Administration at that time to understand the financial resources that would be necessary to maintain the two existing facilities for the next five to 10-years, Sweet explained.

He added the scope of work for the RFP was to have the consultant outline the current conditions and expected maintenance cost for the two facilities, in addition to a review for the Essex Municipal Building and the Gesto Office Building and what it would be required to combine staff from the two facilities into one building.

The Essex Municipal Building was built 56-years ago, when the population for the town was 4,000. It was also the Essex Police Station at one time. It is approximately 10,000-square-feet and is currently housing 41 full-time staff members for a community with a population over 20,000.

The Gesto Office Building is two-years older and was originally the Colchester North Municipal Building. It is around 6350-square-feet and currently houses 15 full-time staff members.

Based on that 2016 review, sweet relayed, the two existing buildings do not meet the current program and space needs. He said that the physical disconnect between staff and offices creates physical barriers between and within departments. He added that the report related it is necessary to improve communications and relationships by consolidating all major departments and divisions into the same building, by either a combination of renovations or expansion of the existing building, or moving all operations to a newly constructed facility.

Sweet added that having staff in two different locations can also confuse residents as to where they have to go to meet with certain staff members or connect with specific services.

To renovate or build new based on that report, which combined all staff into one facility, around 2100-square-feet would be needed. This would include offices, meeting space, Council Chambers, storage space, and staff areas.

The previous Term of Council, Sweet said, relocated the Tot Park, which was previously located adjacent to the Essex Municipal Building and moved it to the Essex Center Sports Complex to allow for future expansion of the Essex Municipal Building. It also purchased the former daycare property adjacent to the Town Hall to allow for additional parking required within an expansion.

With operating out of two facilities, Sweet noted there are costs to maintain the two buildings. He added that the current Town Hall has a lack of needed space, has a small Council Chamber that needs to accommodate Council, Administration, and members of the public, the lunch room is small and only seats a couple of people at a time, the HVAC system was not designed for the renovations that have occurred to date, and there is no room for future growth or storage for files onsite.

“We have been very practical previously on this,” Sweet said.

He shared a conceptual design with Council as to a floor plan that would work for the Town’s staffing composite. He noted it offers a larger Council Chamber with more seating for the public for more contentious issues. The building also opens up to staff from a variety of departments, which helps provide built-in coverage if a staff member is on vacation.

Something that wasn’t shared on the conceptual design, but Sweet noted the architect was asked to include, was a second floor. This way if it is built now, the cost will be much cheaper than in five to 10-years when further growth occurs. This is built into the cost as well.Based on the conceptual plan, it was estimated the cost in today’s dollars to renovate the current Town Hall with the additional space would be between $5.5 million to $6 million. The conceptual plan is designed to accommodate staff from both facilities as well as building a second floor to allow for future growth over the next 10 to 20-years.

Sweet added that the next step for the expansion would be to have construction drawings developed. In order to be shovel ready and eligible for grant funding as opportunities become available, he noted construction drawings need to be developed.

The Town recommended that Architecttura Architects continue with the expansion project to develop those construction drawings.Deputy Mayor Rob Shepley asked if there was a way the Town could repay that money taken from the Landfill Reserve with interest for the construction drawings, so the reserve is not depleted. Kate Giurissevich, Director of Corporate Services, said that could be possible as part of the business model.

He also wondered if those funds could be replaced when the Gesto Office Building is sold, with the adequate interest. He made that a motion, which Council further supported.

Councillor Joe Garon noted previous Councils have pushed this matter down the road. He noted the building is not adequate. What Council was approving was getting some drawings and putting a plan together.

Mayor Sherry Bondy said this is a fiscally responsible move. It is being cognisant of taxpayers by looking at consolidation and an addition, rather than a new building