by Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative
Construction for the planned expansion of the Essex Municipal Building will cost $4,065,168.52.
At the Monday, November 5 meeting, Council for the Town of Essex awarded the contract for the Town Hall Expansion and Consolidation to Gulf Developments, the lowest bidder on the Request for Tender.
“We are expecting the project to be overall under budget,” Director of Community Services, Jake Morassut, noted.
Back in September, Council approved moving forward with proceeding to issue tender documents for the construction and expansion of the current Town Hall, with a total post-budget approval of $6,731,000 to Architecttura Architects and Engineers. That included the architect fees of $398,750 for the expansion and HVAC upgrades.
The construction portion for the project was budgeted at $5.87M. Additional costs will include IT considerations at $254,400 and Council Chambers millwork and office furniture at $203,520.
Essex Council approved moving forward in developing a business case for funding a municipal building expansion and consolidation plan on the current Town Hall footprint a year ago. At the time, Council approved a series of resolutions that would work towards a solution for the need for more space for staff, as there had been no formal resolution from Council to do so previously.
That included selecting the current location for the Town Hall expansion and consolidation. In addition, Administration was directed to develop a business plan to fund the expansion and consolidation, which was to include the selling of the Gesto Office building which is currently housing staff within the Development Services Department, and utilizing the sale funds toward the expansion capital costs.
Morassut shared the design details previously with Council. The parking lot will have access from Arthur Avenue or Irwin Avenue, a rep from each department will sit at the front counter, the current Council Chambers will be converted to a meeting room with the floors elevated to match the rest of the building, there will be an addition of a larger Council Chamber, and a larger lunch room as the current one can fit around three individuals.
The new design also has safety of staff and Council in mind. The new Council Chambers will have two exits, one towards the back of the room. It will also seat 44 in the gallery for meetings of interest.
The project construction plan has been broken down into three phases, including the addition, HVAC, and leveling out the building and converting the current Council Chambers into a meeting room.
The new design offers better front-facing customer service, reduction in mileage and travel time for staff having to go between the two current buildings, and more efficient systems, he added.
The second floor, Morassut commented previously, will service future needs if there are any. It will also house a lunch room, restrooms, storage room, and a large office area that could be used for open houses or strategic meetings.
In answering Deputy Mayor Rob Shepley’s question on when shovels are expected to break ground on the project during last week’s meeting, Morassut noted a pre-construction meeting with the contractor was scheduled soon after the approval. That will allow details to get hammered out.
“I think this is a really positive step, not only for our Council but for our administration and our residents, having one stop shopping here,” Essex Mayor Sherry Bondy said. She added that part of the expansion is offloading the Gesto building.
“I am thrilled to be part of the team that is going to make this happen,” Bondy added. “Our staff deserves this, as well. There are parts of this building that are hot, there are parts of this building that are cold…the building elevations, up and down on the floors, are not ideal for residents from a customer service and accessibility point of view.”
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.
The Stephenson Engineering report concluded the two buildings do not meet current program and space needs, and create physical disconnect with staff members.
CAO Doug Sweet previously explained that it was anticipated a new building would cost somewhere between $17-$12M in 2016 dollars. With inflation, it likely would be somewhere between $23-$25M today.
The expansion was a more cost-effective path.
Funding will be from reserves with intention the annual debt payments to be funded from investment income, Council heard previously.