Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter
At its regular meeting on Sept. 16, Town of Peace River council approved for some funds to be withdrawn to commence alterations to its new Town Hall Building.
“Council approved $250,000 withdrawn from the general capital reserve to commence planning and renovations on the future Town Hall Building,” says Mayor Elaine Manzer.
“The start of the renovations involves a master plan for the building through an architectural design, work on plumbing, elevator and other preliminary renovations.”
The Town decided to purchase the new building instead of undergoing extensive and expensive renovations at its current site, one that would have required restructuring of the whole building to make it more accessible.
“Town staff and council will be involved in discussing what is needed in the new building and the arrangement of rooms, including an accessible council chamber,” notes Manzer.
“The architect will be submitting a proposal for review.”
Council is hoping to be in its new digs some time in 2025.
“There will be enough usable space for department staffs to work in the same areas of the building, elevator access will help both staff and the public access the two floors of the building,” says Manzer of the new facility.
“The council chambers will be more accessible, and the layout of the building will help workflow.”
Manzer says the first steps for renovation includes hiring an architect, completing work on the elevator, plumbing and other utilities as needed including technology, renovations for a council chamber, dedicated room for disaster management and other meeting spaces, including offices.
“The total anticipated costs will not be known until more planning is done,” she notes.
“Council and administration will be discussing the budget for the renovations and that impacts both the scale of the renovations and the time frame they would be completed in,” Manzer concludes.