Renovations coming to Lacombe City Hall

The renovations focus on the spaces occupied by the Finance and Planning and Development Departments.

The renovations are expected to improve the customer experience for the residents of Lacombe. Some of the benefits include more meeting and functional spaces, public access to services from one counter, and a barrier free counter.

The changes will also limit public access to staff areas for safety reasons. Instead, when the public needs access to a secure area, a staff member will escort them through the security access doors. Staff members will have fob access.

During their regular council meeting Monday, Oct. 28, Councillor Don Gullekson asked if their had been any security incidents.

Diane Piché, Director of Corporate and Protective Services, said there have been one or two incidents where a member of the public had gone to the back to speak with staff without approved access.

However, there haven’t been any circumstances where staff have been violently threatened or attacked.

The plans were first identified in 2023 through three different designs presented to city council. One of the designs was chosen but after they were all over budget, the project was put on hold.

Two qualified construction companies submitted updated bids, one for $319,486 and the other for $549,477. Ultimately, IMC Construction Ltd. was recommended because of their lower costs.

Moves have also been made for uninterrupted service to the public through the construction process such as moving staff to other buildings. Council meetings will also go as planned as well.

“I hate to put anymore money into this building to be honest with you,” Gullekson said during the city council general meeting.

“I don’t like that at all because the future of this is certainly not longterm.”

Gullekson then asked if there was any thought given to improving security access alone without any renovations. Piché replied there was not a lot of thought given to that possibility.

Councillor Chris Ross also expressed mixed feelings.

“When we look at our 10-year capital plan, I can somewhat agree as when do we keep lipsticking a facility or building that’s only got so many square feet,” he said.

“Do we really just have a longterm plan because that half a million dollars on public works could have went towards probably an upgraded building that would have been more energy efficient and more longevity. That was really frustrating and three or more hundred thousand dollars into this facility when $2 million builds a new building.”

Meanwhile, councillor Scott Dallas believes there is a sense of importance to the project because of how many times it’s been brought to council.

“It is not just a frivolous ask,” Dallas said.

“I also don’t believe that this building is not longterm for us since nobody has put forward a plan to replace it and there isn’t anything in the future. As much as we maybe don’t want to invest in a facility like this, it seems like we aren’t doing anything to replace it or to find an alternative to invest in this facility.”

Mayor Grant Creasey agreed with councillor Gullekson in respect to putting money into a building that doesn’t have a long lifespan.

However, he said he wants to have a building that represents the community well and is up to standard. He was also on the fence about it.

“Security is important, however, we do need to be realistic in the fact that I think we have had precious few incidents that would really justify any type of substantial upgrades all on it’s own,” he said.

“For me, somewhere in the balance is this one number in the $300,000 range that somewhat reluctantly I could still support with the hopes that it would accomplish our goals and move this building along for another decade and a half or so.”

Ultimately, the project was approved in a vote of five to one, only councillor Gullekson voted against it.

by rdnewsNOW staff

Renovations coming to Lacombe City Hall

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