If the budget bylaw is approved, Central Saanich Municipal Hall will get some basic upgrades to tide them over until a new municipal hall can be built, likely in the mid-2020s.
The current municipal hall and public safety complex was constructed in phases from 1965-1986, according to a report from staff submitted for a Commitee of the Whole meeting on March 12. Since the 1990s, staff have highlighted deficiencies in the building. Staff are running out of room in the current configuration, and there are some health and safety concerns about accessibility, emergency power, fire alarms and the like. The staff report says that “a redesign would improve customer service and allow for other partners or uses.”
Staff presented three options to councillors. Option 1, at $1.4 million, would have provided “Intermediate Service Improvements,” meaning larger spaces for public meetings, improved access to Council Chambers and the police service, as well as a new front counter and health and safety improvements. There would still be no room for growth, and building replacement would still be required. Option 2, to “Improve the Basics,” is estimated at $450,000, which would only fix a leaking roof in the main foyer, improved HVAC, and limit the amount of space repurposing (removing a spare washroom for more office space, for example), instead of providing a whole new entrance or council chamber. Option 3, at $115,000, would only fix health and safety deficiencies, but would not provide more working space.
In the end, councillors went with the middle option, but not before some debate.
Between Dec. 2013 and 2015, council decided to hold off on taking on more debt to build a municipal hall, and instead wanted to pay off debt from the fire hall faster. They predict fire hall payments will be complete by 2025. A new municipal hall is projected to cost somewhere between $17-22 million, and council decided not to increase property taxes to fund it, so it would be paid for with some combination of reserves and new debt.
In 2017, providing “Intermediate Service Improvements” (Option 1) became a strategic priority for the District, with $700,000 budgeted, but when the subject was revisited this year, the estimated cost increased to $1.4 million due to the poor condition of the building and the hot construction industry. Staff recommended building something new over spending that much money on a building that was at the end of its life.
At one point, Coun. Carl Jensen supported Option 3 (health and safety only), because he felt it did not make sense to put a lot of extra money into a building which would likely be replaced “sooner than later.”
However, Jensen asked the CAO to tour the lower bowels of the building and saw the conditions that staff were working in, and felt “my intent to see something done sooner rather than later,” as in the next council term, might not be realistic. Since staff would not see change anytime soon, Jensen felt Option 2 would be more appropriate.
As Coun. Zeb King understood it, going with the lowest cost option would not preclude further renovations if the next council deemed it necessary.
Coun. Alicia Holman felt that since Jensen’s mind was changed after his tour of the building, she felt other councillors deserved to tour the building as well, and asked to defer the decision to a later meeting so they could see for themselves. However, it was pointed out that councillors are always allowed to ask for more information as part of their own preparation, and that no one was actively denied an opportunity to ask.
Coun. Bob Thompson said Option 2 was “nearly a million dollars less than the original plan,” so it was a significant reduction.
Option 2 passed with Coun. Holman in opposition.
In a follow-up email, Director of Financial Services Paul Murray said before construction could begin, they would need architectural work and a request for proposal process first, then another vote of council.