It’s the council discussion most of Chatham-Kent has been waiting for – on Monday night, members will discuss the options being considered for dealing with the aging Civic Centre.
Administration has recommended ruling out three of the five options, including making repairs to the Civic Centre, Chatham branch of the Library, and Cultural Centre on an as-needed basis, building a new Civic Centre at a different location, or renovating and/or expanding the three facilities.
The options left on the table include renovating the current Civic Centre, or purchasing part of the Downtown Chatham Centre and relocating to the former Sears portion of the mall.
Current high-level cost estimates to renovate the Civic Centre come in at $37,000,000. The report to council estimates the cost of buying a portion of the DCC and relocating the Civic Centre at $53,000,000 with the option to potentially sell the current Civic Centre and Chatham library buildings.
A public survey, that some in the community questioned as leading or too generic, received 1146 responses, and 80 people attended a pair of public information sessions last month, both of which municipal officials say provided a lot of feedback but no general consensus.
The report also includes a suggestion for a report outlining an action plan and funding options to address safety concerns at the Civic Centre, including portions of the building that don’t meet Ontario’s building or fire codes.
