Rocky View County (RVC) could begin construction on a new administration building on the Municipal Campus in Balzac as early as next year, after council voted 6-3 to approve the project July 15.
Following a three-hour discussion, RVC council approved moving to the next phase of designing and developing the building, which will be built on county-owned land near Highway 566 and Range Road 291, northeast of CrossIron Mills mall.
Councillors Jerry Arshinoff and Al Sacuta and Reeve Margaret Bahcheli were opposed.
The motion approved by council stipulated the project must not exceed the estimated cost of $32 million. The funds will be provided through an approved grant from the Government of Alberta’s Municipal Sustainability Initiative, said RVC manager of corporate services Kent Robinson.
In his presentation to council, Robinson said the current municipal building located in northeast Calgary is no longer meeting its needs due to lack of space for county staff, councillors and meeting space with the public, and numerous “deficiencies” due to the age of the building.
He said when the building was opened in 1978, it was intended to serve a population of 17,000. But today, the county’s services reach more than 38,000 people.
According to Grant Kaiser, RVC manager of communications, the county has 263 staff members. In addition to the current 47,000-square-foot municipal building, the county has been leasing additional office space for five years at another location in northeast Calgary to house employees. For the last five years, leasing cost the county $200,000 a year, but since the county reduced the size of office space this year, the lease costs $125,000 a year.
The county also has four ATCO trailers parked at the current municipal site and has a “small amount” of office space inside the county’s heavy vehicle maintenance garage to house staff, said Kaiser.
“The need is growing, and addressing that need is not getting less expensive with time,” stated Robinson.
The county first began considering a new administration building in 2006. The 157 acres in Balzac were purchased in 2009 for the Municipal Campus, with about 20 acres dedicated to the local recreation district.
A Master Site Development Plan for the campus - which included a 100,000-square-foot municipal building, public works facility, public recreation amenities, a fire station and possible future business development area - was approved by council later that year. In 2012, council approved reducing the size of the administration building to 81,635-square-feet.
Robinson said its estimated the current municipal site could be sold for about $15 million.
Sacuta questioned administration over what would happen if the project comes in over budget, adding one of the reasons he’s opposed to the project is because he thinks the county’s cost estimates are too low.
Reeve Bahcheli was opposed to the project and said although she “completely understands” county staff are overcrowded, she said there are other capital projects that need to be prioritized. Arshinoff agreed, adding the MSI funding should be used for the issues that affect county residents on a daily basis, including flooding and repairing roads.
Councillor Rolly Ashdown said he was in favour of the project, but had several items he wanted addressed in the next steps of the planning and design process. Those included insuring the county stays on budget; involving council on an on-going basis; ensuring MSI funding is still available for other projects; and encouraging the county to get the best value for the sale of the land in Calgary.
Councillor Bruce Kendall was also in favour.
Ashdown made a motion to direct administration to create the draft Terms of Reference for a steering committee to oversee the project, and present to council at the next meeting July 29.
