By Jeff Helsdon
LJI Reporter
The town council is looking at new potential sites for a town hall and is also investigating available funds from potential asset sales as part of the process.
Last year, council approved a new town hall on the current customer service centre site at 10 Lisgar Ave. However, when a report came forward at the July meeting identifying additional costs associated with moving a sanitary sewer line and soil excavation/replacement, the estimated “order of magnitude cost” jumped to $18 million. Although council decided to proceed in a split vote, a decision was made to seek information on alternative sites at the August meeting.
A report on the alternative sites was presented at the Oct. 21 meeting. In the report, several options were presented. Options that were not recommended were purchasing the current Long Point Region Conservation Authority (LPRCA) building at 4 Elm Street, Harvey Street on the site of the current municipal parking lot (behind Avondale United Church) and in a renovated space in the Tillsonburg Town Centre. Staff did recommend further investigation into a site that is currently a parking lot on Harvey Street between Avondale United Church and Brock Street (northeast corner of Brock and Harvey Streets) and unoccupied lands south of the LPRCA fronting on Lincoln Street (but still officially 4 Elm Street).
The original motion suggested in the report was to either continue with the design discussed at the July meeting for 10 Lisgar Ave or to investigate “any necessary preliminary negotiation options through to the appropriate due diligence and feasibility” of the northeast corner of Brock and Harvey Streets and the unoccupied lands at 4 Elm Street.
Coun. Pete Luciani and Coun. Bob Parsons initially put forward a motion to look at the alternative sites.
Deputy Mayor Dave Beres compared it to buying a house and knowing your down payment. He said he wants to know what available property the town has it can sell to put towards the town hall.
“I believe the report should include what capital should be put towards this project,” he said, later adding, “A key element is what sort of capital this town has to put towards a new project as large as this, and the rationale of how we can afford the capital and how much we have to take out in long-term debt.”
After discussion with the clerk that this is not included in the current motion, Luciani and Parsons withdrew their motion.
“We’re still looking at an $18 million town hall, regardless of what funding we get or what property sales we get, it’s still an $18 million town hall,” Coun. Chris Parker said. “I think we need to direct staff of an upside limit, be it $9 million, $10 million. $18 million is not acceptable in my books.”
He mentioned that the town has many big infrastructure projects in the next ten years and can’t afford to spend millions in interest on a town hall.
Mayor Deb Gilvesy agreed, saying a report could be prepared on this.
Beres said he somewhat concurred, again emphasizing the need to know the down payment.
“Doing quick math today, with the number we are talking about, we would have to knock on every door and ask for a couple of thousand dollars per family. I don’t think people can handle that and it would be a ridiculous ask,” he said.
CAO Kyle Pratt clarified that Economic Development Commissioner Cephas Panschow is already working on information on what assets the town has available to sell towards this town hall. Director of Public Works Jonathan Graham said he would ask the architect to break pricing down more so the council can consider adding or eliminating items. Pratt said that once the available capital is known, a spending limit would help. He also directed Graham to request the architects provide a more accurate number than order of magnitude pricing.
“I think there has to be a big reality check for this room that we can’t afford a new town hall. That is reality, that is factual,” Gilvesy said. “We need to collectively think we are the gatekeepers of the taxpayer’s money, and moving forward, we need to make responsible decisions in this regard. We have other pressures on the budget, some of them are going to be out of our control. We need to think about this between now and the time we will get this information back.”
Luciani asked if 10 Lisgar Ave was an option with reining in prices or if other staff would only be looking at other locations.
“We’re asking them to come back with stuff, but based on what,” he said. “Are we going to go through this whole exercise again? This costs money and time.”
Pratt said the next step is to look at what money is available and, dependent on that, make a decision on building a new town hall or renovating 10 Lisgar Ave.
Gilvesy asked council to think about what the town could afford before the report came back.
In the end council passed two motions, to investigate potential funding sources and to continue research on the potential sites on the northeastern corner of Brock and Harvey and on the unoccupied lands at 4 Elm St.
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