It's decision day for the Chatham-Kent community hub.
Chatham-Kent Council will be voting on Monday night on whether or not to move to the next step of the project.
The council meeting will take place at the Bradley Centre in Chatham because a large crowd is expected.
Administration is recommending proceeding with the construction procurement phase of the hub to find contractors and materials.
Staff noted if that recommendation is approved by CK Council on Monday night, then a report will come back to Council recommending either to award the construction contract and proceed with building the hub or to not award the contract.
If a construction contract is approved at a future meeting, the former Sears building in downtown Chatham will be transformed into a new smaller Civic Centre, a larger library, and an expanded museum at a projected cost of nearly $53 million.
"While the existing Civic Centre has served as a base for municipal services, it is limited in its flexibility, outdated in functionality, lacks modern amenities, has accessibility restrictions, and does not have the capacity to accommodate future growth," the staff report stated. "The existing buildings do not fully support evolving community needs or provide adequate space for shared programming and multifunctional uses."
Council previously voted 11-5 to move forward with the hub project over renovating the existing Civic Centre.
The proposal would increase the combined space by 52 per cent from 78,160 square feet to 119,278 square feet.
The municipality said the project doesn't require any new property tax increases because the money has been put aside and the costs were already included in the municipality's multi-year budget.
An estimated cost analysis recently released by the municipality showed it would cost $108.2 million to get the current Civic Centre, library, and museum up to standards, double the price of building new.
"Significant efficiencies are realized in having more services within one facility. These ancillary spaces need to be duplicated in separate facilities to ensure each building has the required mechanical and associated space allocations," said administration of the current three facilities.
Staff noted the search for a contractor, if approved, is set for next month and the contract would come up for approval in September.
The contract would then be awarded in October and construction would begin in December, according to staff.
The hub is anticipated to take 18–24 months and should be complete at the end of 2027, said the municipality.
Administration also noted cost implications arising from U.S. tariff changes implemented after bids close remain the responsibility of the municipality.
However, contractors will be encouraged to seek Canadian or non-tariffed alternatives where appropriate before requesting contract adjustments.
"Administration is continuing to review impacts from tariffs and other industry changes throughout the project. While widespread impacts are not currently anticipated, the risk is being actively monitored, and mitigation strategies are being completed to avoid or minimize these impacts," said the municipality.
The consolidation of the Civic Centre, library, and museum to one site will allow the municipality to sell the other buildings in need of repair.
The municipality said estimated expenses to operate the new facility were included in the October report to council and any additional operational expenses, if required, would be brought forward through future budget processes.
"Increases in resources such as staffing and/or supplies to maintain current levels of service or for increased level of services and/or program delivery for the library and the museum to meet community needs would be requested in the 2028-2031 multi-year budget if recommended by the Executive Management Team," the municipality noted.