$88,000 study of Georgina's Civic Centre may spell the end of iconic landmark

YorkRegion.com
Aug. 11, 2016
By Heidi Riedner

It could be the end of an era, and an iconic Georgina landmark, once a study of the civic centre’s functionality is determined.

Demolishing the civic centre and building a new one will be considered under an $88,000 project examining expansion options for the aging facility that currently houses seven members of council, 120 full-time staff and up to 10 part-time staff.

Off-site locations, like the operations centre, which currently houses six employees, are also being considered under the study.

A consultant, expected to be on board by Aug. 17, will develop a multi-year strategic accommodation plan for expansion options.

Approved in the 2015 budget, the civic centre functional analysis and civic centre site evaluation projects have since been combined and carried forward to this year.

The proposed plan will forecast the town's requirements for the short and long term with respect to present office space utilization, council and staff space needs and the ability to provide services in a more effective and efficient manner.

It will also explore various site options, improvement of town services and the impact of growth and future space needs.

Issued raised over the current set-up include the physical condition of the building, parking, site restrictions and accessibility compliance, as well as future growth needs.

Options being considered include:

• Construction of a new building on Keswick Business Park land;

• Construction of new building in conjunction with Multi-Use Recreation Centre planned for the South Keswick Development Area;

• Demolition of existing civic centre and rebuild on same site on town-owned lands;

• Renovate existing space and/or add on to existing building;

• Decentralizing and finding accommodations for satellite offices to supplement those already operating; and

• Refits of existing civic centre building to address asset life-cycle requirements improvements/reorganization to maintain safety and functionality.

A project management team consisting of the town’s CAO and directors will oversee the project, with an options report being tabled council after completion of the study.

Potential options are for analysis only, according to management team.

If moving is determined as the best course of action, an actual site selection process will follow as a separate study. The objective would be to develop a short list of sites before detail programming

for any particular building or facility.

A staff report presenting next-step options is scheduled for September.