Tecumseh isn't approving a $2.8-million town hall expansion after all.
More office space is needed for the town's growing staff and services, but council decided during a meeting Tuesday night that the expansion should wait two or three years.
The town hall expansion will now be discussed during the 2019 budget deliberations.
Deputy Mayor Joe Bachetti says a space analysis is needed before a decision is made and adds that the election in 2018 has nothing to do with the delay.
"The election played no part in the decision. There's concern with a lot of details that were missing in the report and there just had to be more information in the report," says Bachetti.
Bachetti says building an entirely new town hall is also worth considering when the time comes.
Mayor Gary McNamara says the expansion is needed right now because customer service is suffering.
This expansion would add another 7,000 sq ft to the 13,000 sq ft building and address space needs for the next ten to 15 years.
The last renovation at the Tecumseh Town Hall was done in 2005 at a cost of $1.5-million.
Bachetti says the timing is not right and wants to hear from the incoming chief administrative officer.
"This time next year we're going to have a new CAO and I'd like to see what his vision is for Tecumseh in terms of organizational chart and how many directors and managers," Bachetti says.
Council was told that waiting two or three years could increase the cost by 25%, but Bachetti says it could also decrease it.
"Perhaps now is not a good time and we should wait two years for things to slow down. Right now it's difficult to find builders. The prices now might be higher than waiting two years so it could work both ways," says Bachetti.
