The Civic Centre in Chatham might soon be getting a multi-million dollar makeover.
A report will be coming to council Monday night that recommends some major renovations to the building at a cost of up to $18.1 million.
Administration is requesting that council approve renovating the Civic Centre at an investment of $18.1 million, which would include Council Chambers being moved to the first floor, with funds supported from the building lifecycle reserves.
The staff report details some of the deteriorations that the 43-year-old building is dealing with including lack of accessibility, inefficient floor space utilization and insufficient security measures. According to the report, the building is in need of major structural, electrical, lighting, window, flooring and plumbing repair, in addition to the ductwork alterations required to the HVAC system.
Major renovations were voted against by former members of council in 2017. In May 2019, the topic of relocating Council Chambers to the first floor at a cost of $1.6 million was brought up again but fearing it would cost too much, councillors voted to defer the matter until they could get more questions answered.
At the time, council was told that there are many things in Council Chambers that are not up to standards with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), including non-accessible washrooms on the second floor and nearly impossible evacuation options in an emergency situation for people using a wheelchair. Because the Civic Centre and Council Chambers were built in compliance with the code in place at the time of construction, the space has been legally permitted to remain as is.
Besides Council Chambers, one of the areas in the Civic Centre that needs the most attention is the HVAC system, which hasn't been replaced since the facility was build in 1977. In 2018 the HVAC unit failed 65 times and according to the staff report, the current system is not up to par with modern standards.
"The existing HVAC system was originally designed for a building with open transmission of air between all three floors," stated the report. "Amalgamation drove the need to enclose the second and third floors in order to accommodate the integration of staff to one location. As a result, the current HVAC design is not efficient or effective to adequately heat and cool the building."
The report states that it could cost around $1.6 million to relocate staff from the Civic Centre if an emergency HVAC failure took place. If the HVAC system were to suddenly fail, fixing it would require such major renovations that, by law, the whole building would have to be brought up to current Ontario disability standards.
It adds that the heating and cooling in the building, as well as the building's overall condition, has already been a tremendous burden on employees.
"Staff morale has been negatively affected due to the state of the Municipal headquarters. Uneven heating and cooling and leaking windows have caused staff to wear coats and sweaters and purchase inefficient space heaters in the winter and use fans in the summer," read the report.
The report also suggests some other solutions including renovating the Civic Centre at an investment cost of $17.3 million but keeping Council Chambers on the second floor. With this option, Council Chambers would still be renovated in order to be brought up to modern accessibility needs, but it would not address the safety concerns that the chambers currently face.
"Council meetings can commonly draw crowds of up to 150 people. Public spaces with this type of occupancy require quick egress from the building in the event of an emergency. The current building design does not optimize public and staff security zones. The location of Council Chambers on the second floor of the building is not a desirable location for evacuation in the event of an emergency," stated the report.
There are also some options to start fresh in a new facility, including purchasing and renovating an existing building in Chatham-Kent to house all the municipal services that are currently located in the Civic Centre and the Grand Avenue Community Human Services Building. This would cost around $34 million. Staff also puts forward a recommendation to build a completely new Civic Centre at an estimated cost of $56 million.
There is also an option to take no action and only make repairs on an emergency basis, however, staff is warning that choosing this option could result in negative impacts due to excessive costs and potential operational disruptions.
"Choosing to take no action and repairing the Civic Centre as needed will cost an estimated $9 million to $18 million over and above the figures referenced in [the other options] as well as cause significant disruption in public services," read the report. "It is therefore not recommended as a viable option."
If council does move forward with renovating the Civic Centre or moving operations to another building, the total project costs will actually be lowered by about $5 million dollars because of savings on energy, something the current building is lacking in.
"All options will provide a present value savings of $5. million due to improved energy efficiency when analyzed over a 40 year time period. Further, all options will provide benefits to the environment with the modernization of key operational infrastructure. The current operational state of the Civic Centre is very energy inefficient," stated the report.
Out of all the options presented, staff say their preferred recommendation is the $18 million renovations of the Civic Centre and to move Council Chambers to the first floor. It would take about three years to complete this project and around four years to move operations to another building or to build a completely new Civic Centre.
You can read the full staff report by clicking here.