Town staff are readying themselves for the big move that will see the Town of Ponoka’s administrative building relocated to the old Ponoka Elementary School building.
The offices will be located at the north end of the pink building with a customer entrance on the northeast side, says Donna Brinkworth, communications officer. To help residents navigate the new location, a large sign will be shown at the northeast entrance to the old school.
Brinkworth said if all plans go well, the new town hall will be open for business Thursday, Nov. 12 after Remembrance Day. “It’s going to be a huge move,” she said.
“We’ll make sure we have reserved parking for customers.”
There will be no communication capabilities with phone or Internet Friday, Nov. 6 and any calls made that day will go to the town’s call centre. Staff will be spending much of Nov. 9 and 10 unpacking boxes in their new home. Brinkworth said over the weekend crews will have moved the old desks from the current building to the new one, which will allow staff to get their items ready for the 12th.
“The biggest challenge I would say is moving all the IT stuff,” said Brinkworth.
In addition to regular parking, there will be two handicapped parking spots and a ramp to make the building wheelchair accessible. Crews have been refurbishing the space to ensure there are areas for town employees to work and the main entrance is designed so that residents will be able to speak with staff who are most frequently serve town’s clients. Those departments are finance, bylaw services, utilities and the receptionist.
Brinkworth added that Val Schabert, who handles requests for plots at the Forest Home Cemetery, now has a room she can meet with residents in.
Planning and development will continue to work out of the Visitors’ Information Centre. Brinkworth said there has been some disruption with email and phone communications with the two offices but added staff are working to ensure issues are dealt with as quickly as possible.
One benefit of the move is town staff will be housed in the same area. The current building splits departments up and this will not happen with the new location. “We look forward to serving people when we come to this building,” added Brinkworth.
A 10-year lease has been signed with Wolf Creek Public Schools for the space at $10 per year and council approved the reallocation of $120,000 Sept. 8 to help pay for the move and refurbishing.