The new municipal office in East Ferris is coming along well, as is the municipal garage, and both should be ready to open their doors in early 2023. The municipal office should be move-in ready this January, and East Ferris’ chief administrative officer, Jason Trottier, expects the building will be open to the public by February.
As for the municipal garage, Trottier expects that to be complete by April, 2023. Last March, a fire broke out in the municipal garage, and by May, after an investigation took place, the structure was deemed a write-off.
The loss of the garage was an unexpected expense, and the new building costs in the $2.4 million ballpark—“we were forced to build in inflationary times,” Trottier noted. Insurance from the original garage is covering $1.1 million of that expense, and the municipality is taking out a loan for the rest.
See: Remember that East Ferris garage fire? It’s a write-off
The reason for the cost increase from the last building—which was built in the ‘70s—is that the municipality decided to improve the garage. It’s bigger than the original by about 50 per cent, and there will be five garage bays. Four will house equipment, with three of those being drive through. The bay doors will be wider. You needed an eagle’s eye with the old bay doors, as there was about two inches lead way to get the snowplows through the door. Now, instead of a two-inch reserve, there will be a two-foot window for the drivers.
Another bay will be dedicated to public works staff, complete with office space, a bathroom, lockers, and a kitchen and dining area. A new septic system is also being installed. Before there was a holding tank. The floors will be heated, and currently, the concrete floor pad is drying out and waiting for the steel frame to take shape around it.
The new garage is being built on the same site as the old one—across the road from the Town Hall, on Highway 94 in Corbeil. The new municipal office will be on the site of the St. Theresa school in Corbeil, across the road from Memorial Park.
The municipal office project has been on the books for a few years. As originally conceived, the building was going to house the fire department as well, but with an estimated $9.5 million price tag, council decided to put that idea to bed.
Instead, council decided to add on to the St. Theresa school, and focus solely on a municipal office. The new price is $5 million, and the municipality has taken out a loan for $4.8 million from Infrastructure Ontario to help cover the bill.
See: East Ferris celebrates centennial with new municipal building
Kenalex Construction is bringing both projects to life.
The new office is 7,500 square feet, and will have offices, a council chamber complete with audio visual equipment to allow council to live-stream meetings, and additional work spaces for staff. A grand opening will be announced and will most likely take place in late January.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
