Don Urquhart

Times-Chronicle

The first glimpse of a possible new town hall was unveiled to town council last week, boasting three storeys and a $10 million price tag.

Joanne Smith from Sahuri + Partners Architecture presented the Space Needs Assessment & Pre-Design Report, a result of a process that began in 2018 and delayed last year because of COVID-19.

The report taps census data with projected incremental growth of Osoyoos around 1.0 per cent per year with a population of roughly 6,000 by 2033 and 7,000 by 2049.

This growth in population will boost the number of Town employees, outstripping current facility capacity. The feasibility study conducted by the firm looked at four primary options, including: Potential to add, to renovate or rehabilitate the existing town hall; leasing spaces; potential to develop alternative town-owned property; and develop a new town hall and its current location.

Based on a 2018 building assessment report, the architectural firm advised against renovating or rehabilitating the existing Town Hall. Structural remediation issues would make it cost-prohibitive Smith said.

This is compounded by existing access issues in which the second floor is not accessible for those with disabilities. The desire to enhance cooperative work was also cited as a key factor. The firm also determined that the idea of leasing a building was not ideal because of a lack of long-term ownership, among other factors.

This saw the focus turn back to the existing location. Among the benefits of using this existing location are things like maintaining a downtown presence, supporting the vibrancy of the downtown area, taking advantage of owned property, updating the Town’s building portfolio by replacing existing stock, and the significant growth potential it would have.

From a greenhouse gas emissions perspective, Smith noted that renovating the existing town tall was on par with building a new one, but a new building would have a low carbon footprint into the future.

The 2,000 square-metre build design also features a public/workspace separation that, during a “heated council session” councillors would have the ability to exit “without interfacing with the public,” Smith explained.

The third storey of the building would afford offices for community support groups and dedicated space for emergency response activities.

With an emphasis on creating a 360 degree facade – one that is attractive from all sides – the exterior would amount to nearly $750,000 alone, but is something that could be scaled back to shave costs, Smith said.

Commenting on the $10 million price tag, Mayor Sue McKortoff said: “It’s a horrendous number for us to consider, so that’s a bit of a shock but we knew it was coming.” And while there is a $4.5 million figure allocated in the capital plan for a new town hall, that barely covers half the cost of this proposal.

“The next steps are to get this in the back of our minds in terms of financial planning and budgeting,” said Allan Chabot, Town of Osoyoos chief administrative officer. “What does it look like in finance terms and what does it look like in terms of taxation rates?”

Chabot added that this came to council without a recommendation and was simply presented to council and the broader community for further discussion down the road.

He also cautioned that from the plan it looks “absolutely massive, but it’s not as big as it appears. So a lot of people may say it’s way more than what we need.”

He added that there are a lot of functions currently that could see significant improvement in organizational productivity, efficiency and collaboration through a better building design.

“Now it doesn’t work well. People are dispersed in different buildings and locales. I think we will have to look at what is feasibly, comfortably affordable and what is acceptable to council and the community, because the community will have to decide whether it warrants such a facility like this,” Chabot said.

“Hopefully it will generate some interest and generates a conversation.”