Town hall will not move to former high school site

A new town hall will not be moving into the redeveloped building formerly occupied by General Amherst High School, as seen in the rendering from the Valente Development Co.

While there may be a new Amherstburg town hall at some point in the future, it won’t be in the former General Amherst High School.

Town council voted against having administration enter into negotiations with the Valente Development Corporation, the owners of the former high school at 130 Sandwich St. S., and instead will have a report drafted with costs and details on the other options for a new town hall as presented as part of the administrative report on the matter. 

The motion was passed after roughly four hours of delegations, questions and debate Monday night which saw a couple of moments where Mayor Michael Prue warned people they may be asked to leave if they became unruly.

The other options for a potential new town hall include building a new town hall at Bill Wigle Park, a renovation/addition to the Libro Centre, building on land not yet acquired, building at the public works site, renovating and upgrading the current town hall and rebuilding at the current location.

The motion was made by Councillor Linden Crain and he was joined by Deputy Mayor Chris Gibb, Councillor Molly Allaire, Councillor Peter Courtney and Councillor Don McArthur in support. 

Opposed were Prue and Councillor Diane Pouget.

Administration said the $13-$15 million costs for the potential 130 Sandwich St. S. site could grow to over $20 million when works like heritage facade preservation and other technical components are factored in. The town hall would have been owned by the town with mainly just a shared roof, but there were concerns from the public over condo fees, the town not having its own standalone building, debt and other financial matters.

Crain believed now is not the time to pursue the Valente proposal and to spend that kind of money, stating he would rather delve deeper into examining the other possibilities.

“I would be interested in learning more about the other options presented,” said Crain.

Gibb did question the motion at first, stating the recommendation to enter into negotiations at the former high school site would have given them “firm numbers” and that they weren’t locked into anything. CAO Valerie Critchley pointed out earlier in the night the final contract would have come back to town council for approval or denial.

Allaire believed the town needs “simplicity” and “functionality” out of a new town hall and wanted to find an option “we can all afford.” She also questioned whether the Town of Amherstburg needs the amount of space that was being proposed at the 130 Sandwich St. S. site.

“This is a bit too big for my tastes,” she said.

Courtney said “timing is everything” and that the proposal from the Valente group would have been a “no brainer” if the town was in a more favourable situation. He had once suggested adding a new municipal building at the new fire hall site but didn’t get support, but believed that could still have been the best option.

With tariffs, trade tensions with the United States, inflation and the closure of the Diageo plant that is planned for February 2026, Courtney said now is not the time. He added he hasn’t heard one complaint from a resident about not having a “one-stop shop” and having to go to multiple town properties to conduct business.

McArthur believed residents who spoke made “excellent points” and agreed the Diageo, trade and tariff issues are important at this time. He also didn’t think there was an immediate hurry to have a new town hall constructed.

“I think we all heard you,” he told the packed gallery at Monday night’s council meeting.

The town needs more information on other sites, he said, though he didn’t like the idea of putting a town hall on parkland like Bill Wigle Park. At some point, the town does need a new town hall, he added, but “unfortunately, we haven’t put any money aside to pay for it.”

There has been a space needs study done, McArthur added, and the debate is just beginning. Regarding the Libro Centre option, he said user groups have to be consulted and noted the current town hall site needs repairs. Getting the data needed for a decision on another site is needed, he added.

Prue said fixing the current town hall would cost between $4.5-$6 million and it wouldn’t dramatically increase the life of the building. The site is only worth between $2 million and $6 million, he added.

“The land is valuable, the building is not,” he said.

He believed it would cost $1.84 million to do a study on other sites, cost $19 million based on the administrative report for a new town hall or $27 million to build a standalone building at another site.

Of the remaining options, Prue said only the Libro Centre option makes sense to him but still questioned the direction the town was taking via the motion.

“Going forward, with what is being suggested, it’s not a good idea,” said Prue.

Crain said his intent was to get more information and for the town to do its due diligence on the other options, noting it will likely be the next council that will have to make the decision.

“I’m not saying spend $1.84 million to study what our options are,” he said.

Pouget also noted trade tensions and the pending Diageo closure, adding there has to be more information on the town’s debt load and further analysis, including by the audit and finance committee.

Nine of 11 delegations at Monday night’s meeting pertained to the proposal, with Bill Petruniak stating it “could be an amazing workspace for town staff” but questioned how the town could afford it. He asked for various reports, including from the audit and finance committee and the accessibility committee.

“How can council consider this proposal without having looked at and/or approved the 2026 budget?” he asked. “We don’t have enough money to fix Concession 6 North until 2030, all of our town-owned buildings have issues needing repair. Where does that money come from?”

Petruniak also noted economic issues such as Diageo, tariffs, auto plant shutdowns in the province and uncertainty those issues cause.

“Is this the right time to take on more debt?” he asked. “It’s not smart to take on more debt when the world is in economic chaos.”

Petruniak asked for the decision to be deferred and to be put on the 2026 ballot.

Martha Minogue also pointed out concerns over debt and that such a large expenditure is spread over about 8,000 homeowners.

“It’s us homeowners that have to foot the bill,” she told council. “We have a tiny population. We are not Windsor. We are not London.”

There is “skyrocketing” inflation and people are defaulting on their mortgages, Minogue added. 

“Any legal expert of sound mind would say we don’t do this,” she said.

Julia Darby urged council to hang on to the Carnegie Library, noting the history behind it. She said it was built in 1913 and symbolizes Carnegie’s philosophy and philanthropy. She said the library is a “living legacy” and wanted to see the library stay there and not be combined at a new town hall site.

Acknowledging the library space can be tight for staff, Darby believed there are ways to overcome that. She also read a letter from Architectural Conservancy of Ontario Windsor-Essex’s Tammy Dewhirst, which also called for maintaining the current Carnegie library.

Prue later said he supports keeping the library at its current location and would not want to sell the building.

Local resident Gary Bowerman was next to speak, addressing concerns over taxation and how much moving to the former high school could impact it.

“With the proper investment and the continued building  of our reserve funds, we could built a new town hall/civic centre in ten years at a location to be chosen at a later date without borrowing funds. Our current investment growth is a shameful half the provincial and national average for municipalities. I have previously sent Council substantial information to support this fact,” he said. “This is called Wealth Management 101. The Year 2035, shovels in the ground for a new civic center complex with no requirement to borrow funds, unless those funds can be borrowed for a lower rate than our investment growth. Forward thinking, planning and dedicated reserves.”

Bowerman added through his wife Eloise: “We can thank this council and administration for putting Amherstburg in a financial position of having adequate funds to promote growth. I estimate over $70 million by the end of 2025 and creeping up on $100 million by the end of this term. For Amherstburg residents, a light at the end of a very dark period of time.”

Alison Baldwin told council of her passion for Amherstburg, noting her time on committees and as a former Rotary Club president. She asked why there was no application made under the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) “Green Municipal Fund,” which could have meant millions. Two rounds of funding were open through September.

Critchley later noted while administration knew of the opportunities, there had to be a council-approved project to apply and there wasn’t any commitments made to that end by the grant deadlines.

Baldwin said the town owns land and urged council to look at other opportunities and to seek out further grants. She asked the town to “demonstrate financial responsibility, especially at a time when people are struggling.”

Gordon Moore was another resident who spoke, and had questions relating to condo fees and potential tax increases. He noted the town once looked at buying the former General Amherst High School, but ultimately decided against it.

“Amherstburg can’t afford it at this time,” he said of the proposal. 

Moore suggested possibly doing something at the Belle Vue site in the future.

The proposal to go into the former high school did have some support, with Michael Crawley noting Valente is “willing to invest a lot of money into the town.” Having town hall at 130 Sandwich St. S. would allow the town to meet goals under the AODA act and provide new, modern technology within. 

The space would be accessible and efficient, he added.

Former councillor Marc Renaud noted the repairs the current town hall needs, and also noted restrictions that do not make it a good site in terms of AODA regulations. While supportive of the need for a new town hall, “money is tight for everyone” and also noted the moving of auto plants to the U.S. as well as Diageo. 

Employees need a safe place to work, but Renaud also noted he is a retiree and “funds are limited.”

The ninth delegation was Peter Valente himself, who was there to simply address questions that were posed of him. Pouget told him “you are not the enemy here” but she had questions over parkland, parking and financial matters.

Pouget said many residents likely didn’t know that a possible new library was part of the proposals and wanted more public consultation.

The report that had gone to council also had explained other municipalities building new builds or renovations, such as in the Town of Essex, County of Essex, Town of LaSalle, Town of Tecumseh, City of Windsor, Chatham-Kent, New Tecumseth, and Township of Tiny.

Town hall will not move to former high school site

By Ron Giofu