Town of Blackfalds plans to borrow $5M to buy buildings

Poole says the main building on the property is fully equipped and will eliminate the need for numerous expenditures they would otherwise have to incur on a new facility.

“Long-term cost efficiencies will include having our Community Services department and Public Works department will be in one site,” he explains. “We also have a long-term goal to have a mechanic on-site and the building itself has hoists and equipment that will allow us to utilize that without any further expenditures, so those are two of the major ones.”

Poole points out the Community Service department’s current site next to the Civic Centre is also overflowing, so when staff there move to the new location that will facility will either have to be repurposed or removed for additional parking space.

Eleven full-time Public Works staff, 12 Parks and Rec staff, three Protective Services staff and 14 summer students would work out of the new facility.

Poole notes that their current facilities were built for a population of 3,000 residents, not the current population of 10,125 and growing.

He says they hope to pay off the $5 million being borrowed for the new facility within five years.

“We’ve been looking at this property for several months. It came on the market at a considerably higher rate earlier on in the year ($8.6 million) and administration approached council and we didn’t feel that was an appropriate purchase at that time.”

Poole says it’s hoped the Town of Blackfalds can be in possession of the building by the end of November.

“Staff will transition to the new building in the following months,” explains Poole. “We’ll look at the layout of the building and assign working space to make sure we have a clear plan of how we can best utilize all the spaces in the building.”

by Sheldon Spackman

Town of Blackfalds plans to borrow $5M to buy buildings

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