Wither city hall: Is there a new one in the cards; part of a real vision perhaps?

By Pepper Parr

January 19, 2015

BURLINGTON, ON.

The city did another photo opportunity last week.

Opened in 1965, expanded later the structure no longer meets the space needs of the city. Are there real plans for a replacement? There is a report being worked on that sets out the needs and the possibilities.

The occasion was to commemorate the 50th anniversary of City Hall’s opening as the Civic Administration Building in 1965. A plaque was unveiled telling of the founding of Burlington.

The brief ceremony took place on one of the coldest days of the year when Wayne Kelly, Manager of Public Education and Community Development at the Ontario Heritage Trust delivered some remarks. Residents were invited to attend the event.

It is doubtful if there was any mention of how inefficient the building is or that it can’t hold all the people the city employs.

The Gazette didn’t cover the event – this Council didn’t need another photo opportunity.

The building was a big deal back in 1965 – today it is too small and inefficient.

What we are waiting for is the report that has been moving from desk to desk at city hall on the study of what the city has in the way of space it either owns or rents and what it is going to need in the way of space for the next 20 years.

The city currently rents space in the Sims building on the south side of Elgin where Human Resources, Finance, Purchasing, Legal and Capital Infrastructure beaver away on your behalf.

At one point it looked like the report was going to be made public before the election. Keeping that information away from the public was a smart political move and it maintained the practice of being opaque rather than transparent alive and well.

Former city manager Jeff Fielding had all kinds of ideas about where a city hall should be located and, had he stayed and completed his contract, there would have been all kinds of activity – that was just the way Fielding worked.

The file has been in the hands of the Capital Infrastructure people – once Council decides on who they want as a city manager it might see the light of day. For the time being the best citizens are going to get is some words from Wayne Kelly about how the city hall we have now came to be.

The Sims building is more efficient than city hall.  The city has leased space in the structure for some time; paid enough in rent  argues Councillor Jack Dennison to have paid for the thing.

The lease on the Sims building is due for renewal this year. There will probably be a short term lease renewal while the city gets its act together. The owner of the Sims building will push for a bit more than a short term renewal; they need the city as a tenant – at least until the Economic Development Corporation brings a company to town that will hire people for those high-tech, high paying jobs the city drools about having.

The HiVe, one of the smartest ideas to settle in the downtown core has found that its costs are more than its revenue – they plan to move. The support they could have and should have gotten from the city just didn’t appear.

Meanwhile The Hive over on Elizabeth Street, one of the smarter ideas to settle in the downtown core, has found that the rent they have to pay is more than the revenue they are bringing in – so they will be leaving the core and looking for digs that are less expensive.

None of this got mentioned during the plaque unveiling or while people were enjoying the refreshments at city hall.