
The Hanna Community Centre renovation and addition floor plan as made by FWBA Architects. ECA Review/Town of Hanna
With a longstanding history in the Hanna and area community, the 1985 era Community Centre is being looked at seriously for updates and expansions to its original frame.
The proposal for updates has been a topic of interest since 2010 when it was identified that some important changes.
The Community Centre has been viewed as a great example of what can be accomplished by a group of citizens with a vision and the will to make things happen.
Over time, the town has completed several upgrades and provided ongoing maintenance to the facility including the replacement of furnaces, painting, flooring, etc., however, the overall condition of the facility is beginning to show the heavy use and is an aging facility.
Storage has been a concern over the years and the kitchen and bar areas are compressed, with the joint use of the cooler creating conflict between the caterers and bar users for larger events.
Council, after discussion, authorizes the Chief Administrative Officer to submit a grant application for $1,405,058.68 on behalf of the Town of Hanna to the Green and Inclusive Communities Building Grant for the Hanna Community Centre Upgrade and commit to providing the required matching dollars for $351,264.67.
The Green and Inclusive Community Buildings (GICB) program aims to build more community buildings and improve existing ones, particularly in areas with populations experiencing higher needs while also making the buildings more energy efficient, lower carbon, more resilient, and higher performing.
This five-year $1.5 billion program will support green and accessible retrofits, repairs or upgrades of existing public community buildings and the construction of new publicly accessible community buildings that serve high-needs, underserved communities across Canada.
To meet the criteria for the grant the project will need to be expanded to address all feasible energy efficient options and stress how the renovation makes the building more accessible.
There have been some changes to the original scope planned in 2018 to better address the criteria of the grant, specifically on the green or energy conservation side.
These changes as well as the increased cost of materials has driven the total project cost to an estimated $1,756,323 million.
The funding if the application is successful will cover up to 80 per cent ($1,405,058.68) of the total cost with the municipality being responsible for the remaining 20 per cent ($351,264.67).
Administration shared the town will have to commit to this amount but there is no specification as to where this money needs to come from.
They were confident that Special Areas would chip in as well, to shoulder the amount.
The project would take 18 – 24 months from announcement of successful funding allocation from Green and Inclusive Community Building Program.
The town has completed significant preliminary engineering and fiscal planning and are well positioned to move through the final design phase into project tendering and then the construction phase.
Peace officer agreement
Following the retirement of Hanna’s Director of Protective Services, the various responsibilities of the portfolio have been distributed to other departments or contracted to external sources.
Administration, working with Special Areas representatives, developed a plan to have the town’s bylaw enforcement services provided by Special Areas peace officers on a contract basis.
Special Areas peace officers are appointed by the Alberta Solicitor General and Public Safety, and therefore have broader jurisdiction than the Director of Protective Services had as the Bylaw Enforcement Officer.
A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) establishing the terms and conditions under which the Special Areas Board will provide the Town of Hanna with peace officer services was prepared for council to look at.
The MOU was approved by the Special Areas Board at their Jan. 25 board meeting.
The agreement will be effective as of March 1 and will be reviewed on an annual basis.
The cost of the peace officer services provided by the Special Areas Board will be $100/hour.
It is anticipated that the Special Areas will provide on average eight hours of services per week.
This time will include patrol time, administration, court time and any other associated time related to enforcement duties for the Town of Hanna.
Special Areas will provide a report to the Town of Hanna quarterly and general liability insurance coverage to cover the performance of the peace officer services on behalf of the Town of Hanna.
Peace officers will not address anonymous complaints but will address dangerous dogs, animal protection and animal control but will not provide animal capture services.
The agreement allows the flexibility to have enforcement services provided for situations that cannot be handled through other municipal departments.
Peace officers will take their direction from the CAO and will focus their time on Municipal Bylaws such as unsightly properties, on-street parking, including trailer and RV parking, sidewalk snow removal, garbage issues, noise and business licensing.
Council was comfortable with the agreement, agreeing to enter into the MOA.
Terri Huxley
ECA Review