Council undecided on town hall room use

By Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Strathmore town council is holding off on a decision whether to install a commercial retail unit (CRU) on the first floor of the new municipal building or creating an additional meeting room.
During the town council meeting on April 15, a motion proposed by Councillor Jason Montgomery for PCL Construction to “not finish the space at this time” passed in a 4-3 vote. Councillors Lorraine Bauer, Tari Cockx, Melanie Corbiell, and Montgomery supported the motion, while Mayor Pat Fule and councillors Denise Peterson and Bob Sobol voted against it. No budget or timeline was included in the motion.
“I believe that in order to help keep the cost of the building down and avoid any further cost overruns, it would be sensible to leave the space unfinished at this time,” said Montgomery.
The town will be able to save money and hire local contractors when a decision is made, instead of having PCL, responsible for completing the rest of the building, do the work, he said.
“When we do look to finish the space, we will have more control over being able to use local contractors and companies,” he said. In effect, the town will be “getting people here work to finish the job.”
The decision will support Strathmore’s local economy in a time of low oil prices and economic disruption, added Montgomery.
“One of the very important things to this council with this building was that we get local people hired as much as possible,” he said. “This is one final way for council to ensure that we are putting our resident’s tax dollars back into the pockets of residents.”
Montgomery did not express support for either option for the space, and he said the town could finish the space as soon as PCL completes its work.
Under town policy, if cost remains below $75,000 and the project is “clearly separated” then the town “only has to seek a few bids” rather than a “broad public tender,” said Ryan Roycroft, Town of Strathmore director of infrastructure, operations and development. “If we’re calling for quotes, we pick who we call.”
The decision will not alter the opening conditions of the building from current plans, said Montgomery.
According to Sobol, a first-floor meeting room should be considered a requirement of the building because cost-saving efforts, done unbeknownst to council, resulted in the removal of a large second-floor meeting room.
“On discovering this a few weeks ago, I raised some concerns, mostly due to the fact that I had difficulty at times securing a meeting room in our present building for any type of group over six,” said Sobol. “Changing this space to a meeting room for larger groups is something I see as a necessity, and not just now, but for future councils as well.
“Without this dedicated space, council and administration will once again have to rely on dragging tables out of a closet and setting them up in chambers.”
A meeting room better suits the intended purpose of the new municipal building, he added.
“One of the main reasons for council choosing this location was to draw people to our site and thereby have them visit the downtown areas,” said Sobol. “I am unable to support utilizing this space as a commercial location, as it’s more desirous that the occupants of our new building venture out to our downtown for sustenance, thereby supporting these closed businesses.”