Essex Town Councillors have some tough decisions to make over the next six to 12 months.
The municipality is considering buying Harrow High School and Deputy Mayor Richard Meloche says everything from a community hub, to a new town hall, and a new OPP station is on the table.
Meloche says a hub centralized in the Harrow community must be seriously investigated.
"Could be something that would be worthwhile looking at so we have all our different services in one hub. If you have the library there, and perhaps if the daycare moved there, or the gym currently at the arena," says Meloche.
Councillors toured the high school Wednesday afternoon and were impressed with the over-sized classrooms, high ceilings, library and large gymnasium.
The school board will sit with council over the next few weeks to go over fair market value and other details.
Meloche admits the town desperately needs a bigger town hall.
"We want to try and think outside the box with Harrow High School, and if that's potentially one of the uses, then we're going to investigate it thoroughly and see where it falls out," he says.
Meloche says the OPP is running out of space at the old station in Harrow.
"We're always looking to do repairs on it because it's such an old building, and I gotta believe at some point and time, the OPP is going to come along and tell us they want a new station. Perhaps this is an opportunity to consolidate services and give them some more space like they've been asking for," Meloche says.
