The Town of Drumheller took some time on Wednesday, February 8, to present residents with a draft of the planned relocation of Town Hall.
The move has been considered for some time and the Town has hired Group 2 Architecture to make a draft that transforms the Civic Centre into a functional and efficient Town Hall.
Kari Anne Gaume, associate with Group 2 Architecture, gave a presentation highlighting the need for a new Town Hall and the renovations for the Civic Centre.
Some of the areas where the current Town Hall falls short include handicap accessibility and an isolating and inefficient layout.
“Putting myself in the Town’s shoes I could really recognize the challenges faced in their existing space,” said Gaume. “That’s how we start, by understanding our users.”
The Civic Centre renovations would drastically improve the situation. Gaume highlights flexible work space, collaborative areas, meeting spaces, and after hours use were some of the most important considerations when making the designs.
The main floor of the Civic Centre, which currently houses the Drumheller Public Library, would hold the offices for corporate and community services, file storage, meeting rooms, and the customer service counter where one could pay their water bill.
The second floor would
be completely redone
and would have council chambers, open office space, and the offices of the Chief Administrative Officer and the Mayor.
The meeting rooms were designed with accessibility in mind. The rooms were designed to be accessible at all hours so groups needing space to hold meetings would be able to utilize the rooms when needed.
Sustainable strategies, such as energy efficient lighting, occupancy sensors, low flow fixtures, and recyclable materials were incorporated into the designs.
A probable price tag of $2,075,000 was attached to the project; the price does not include the cost of furniture.
Bill Herman raised a concern that, from a fiscal perspective, now is not the right time for the Town to invest in another expensive project that taxpayers would bear.
Paul Salvatore, the Director of Community Services for the Town of Drumheller, addressed the concern. Thanks to a grant for which the Town has already been approved, $1.5 million of the project is already paid for.
The grant cannot be used to pay for any other existing project, for example paying the bills on the Badlands Community Facility.
The remaining funds would either come from grants or by shifting capital budget priorities. Taxes would not be raised to pay for the move.
Salvatore indicated the Town would save roughly $100,000 per year by not paying operating costs on the current Town Hall were they to move out. The suggestion being that the savings would essentially pay for the move in a few years.
Renovating the current Town Hall was deemed to be a far more expensive solution to the problem, and one that would still not ideally meet the Town’s needs.
The cost for merely fixing Town Hall's building code and safety issues was estimated by Gaume to be at least $1 million.
Council has yet to make the decision on whether or not to go ahead with the relocation project.
If approved, it would be roughly a year before the doors would be opened.
“There would be a little bit more design development and then what we call the production document phase. Depending if there were any changes, that would take three to five months,” said Gaume.
Afterwards, with the building empty and weather not being a factor, Gaume estimated the renovation phase to take between six to eight months after a contractor was signed.
Residents who were unable to attend the meeting can still voice their comments or concerns, to Salvatore at psalvatore@dinosaurvalley.com. Council is awaiting feedback before making a decision on the project.
