Barrie City Hall may have a different look after a staff study received a second glance at tonight's general committee meeting.
$73.6 million is the fee being looked at for the project according to the study, which would include needed renovations to the structure as is as well as an eight-storey 140,000 square foot expansion.
The plan would see the current office tower be renovated and used for private offices, meeting and training rooms that would be shared by the city and County of Simcoe with an expansion planned for the north side of the tower.
While most councillors agree that the current city hall building needs renovation, there were some concerned with sharing the site with the county; Councillor Steve Trotter spoke up on the issue of what Barrie city hall should look like.
"City hall is city hall," said Trotter. "The city should be the focus of the city and a partnership with the county could easily take place elsewhere. I just feel like this needs to be really looked at."
The County of Simcoe is looking to partner with the city in the project with the goal of eventually owning their part of the building.
General committee, led by a motion by Trotter, voted to have staff revisit the study and come up with a separate plan that would investigate the costs of a renovation and expansion that would only affect the city of Barrie staff.
The study shows city hall is too small and overcrowding has led to lack of essential collaboration.
Corporate Services Director Rick Pews said that, while a proposal for a 140,000 square foot building was examined in the study, so was a 70,000 square foot option, if the thought is to cut it in half.
"We had looked into many options and that was one of them," said Pews. "While we don't have a number right now it is something we can investigate. Within the expansion, though, we would be using all space as efficiently as possible. The function of the building as is would have to change in some areas, with obvious elevator shafts not being touched. The timing, of course, would have to be workable for the city."
Mayor Jeff Lehman agreed that renovations need to happen, with or without cooperation with the county.
"With the growth of a city comes growth of city services," said Lehman. "If we weren't to grow at all, we would still have to fix up the building, but we are growing and so expansion is something to look at."
Staff will now research what an expansion would look like should it be for only City of Barrie personnel.
However, that number excludes about $14.7 million in potential ‘soft costs’ and contingencies.
