The Resort Municipality of Whistler’s (RMOW) municipal hall will soon expand to help ease growing space constraints.
On July 4, mayor and council awarded a $1,397,000 contract to NRB Modular Solutions to design and construct a 189-square-metre, one-floor addition to the north annex of the municipal hall complex.
NRB Modular Solutions' bid came in six per cent over the RMOW’s estimate of $1,322,727, and well below the other competing offer from Freeport Construction Management, which came in at a little over $2 million.
According to Andy Chalk, the RMOW's facilities construction manager, the addition is required to make space for existing RMOW staff on the second floor of the Public Safety Building as it goes through renovations, which will increase the floor area and the eventual relocation of the Whistler RCMP detachment into the space.
“This option that we're looking at here today provides a few additional offices. It would remove the trailer in the parking lot and will satisfy the RCMP needs moving forward.” he said.
The addition means the modular office space will be within the same footprint as the existing north annex building, turning the one-floor area into a two-storey structure with a bridge connection to municipal hall.
NRB will construct the modular building away from the actual site and transport it in sections to its eventual home. The plan involves placing the current building on top of the newly built one to create an additional level. Once assembled, renovations inside the second floor will follow suit.
In addition to this new building, exit stairs, circulation upgrades, and landscaping will also be completed. Municipal hall will also receive fire protection upgrades during construction, and removing the trailer in the parking lot will provide up to six additional parking spaces. Staff will be encouraged to work remotely during the upgrades.
“We will rely heavily on remote work policy, and we will exhaust all our other options for offices that exist at the Public Works Yard, municipal hall and perhaps the Alta Vista Public Works Yard,” Chalk said.
Chalk noted that one downside of the project is that it is aimed at keeping up with current space constraints for employees, but does not address future staffing needs at the RMOW.
Chief administrative officer Ginny Cullen echoed that sentiment at Tuesday's council meeting. “We can barely fit all our staff. We won't fit all of our staff given this upgrade," she said. "This is to fit the minimum of what we can, and we still don't have enough for who we have working for us now."
Municipal hall is the oldest building in Village Centre, built in the early 1970s near Alta Lake before serving as the resort's original Keg Steakhouse. In the 1980s, the RMOW moved the building to its current location and undertook several renovations over the years to adapt to the community's changing needs.
With the growing age of municipal hall in mind, Councillor Jeff Murl raised a question about the remaining lifespan of the building, as the expansion project is “only getting us to the bare minimum.”
Chalk explained that the building should last for a long time yet if the RMOW does its job well and continues investing in upgrades. “However, we may outgrow that building before it is ready to pull down, so I think that will be probably the decision that needs to be made—where do we go from here?” he said.
The project still requires a development permit. The RMOW anticipates a 22-week construction period and completion of the addition by Nov. 30.
