Expressing concern that the municipality is overspending on the downtown Community Hub project, a Chatham councillor is seeking a more detailed cost breakdown.
Ward 6 representative Michael Bondy is bringing forward a motion at Monday’s council meeting, asking administration to provide a detailed side-by-side cost comparison for the proposed Community Hub in downtown Chatham and what it would cost if the municipality instead moved forward with renovations for the current Civic Centre.
If approved, the Community Hub project would see the Chatham library, museum, and Civic Centre amalgamated into the former Sears portion of the Downtown Chatham Centre. The municipality purchased the Sears building for $2.95 million.
In his motion, Bondy points out that the cost estimates for the renovation of the Sears building and repairs for the Civic Centre were provided by two different firms.
“The renovation estimates used for the Civic Centre was almost twice that of the Sears building on a per square footage basis,” Bondy said in his motion.
Renovating the existing Civic Centre and moving council chambers would cost around $37 million, which, according to Bondy, works out to $850 per square foot. Renovating the old Sears building is estimated to cost $53 million, which works out to $444 per square foot, Bondy said.
Bondy has asked that the cost breakdown be completed and presented to council during its April 7 meeting.
However, Edward Soldo, CK’s general manager of infrastructure and engineering services, said Bondy’s motion is a duplication of a previously approved motion from council. He said council has already directed administration to provide updated high-level cost estimates for upgrading the Civic Centre, museum and library (including the expansion to 35,000 square feet) to the same standards being proposed for the Chatham-Kent Community Hub.
That report is due to return to council on May 12.
“The updated costs are being undertaken utilizing the same standards and design approach (accessibility, space requirements, etc) as the Community Hub and will provide a comparable analysis of the costs,” Soldo said in a report to council.
The municipality has maintained that the proposed Community Hub is not expected to have a financial impact on taxpayers if council chooses to move forward with the project.
