The Grey Sauble Conservation Authority is temporarily moving their offices in order to complete some long-awaited renovations.
The GSCA’s administration centre, which was built in the 1970s, will be undergoing renovations to make their building more accessible, more energy efficient, and more modern.
Chief Administrative Officer Tim Lanthier says some big changes are coming to their building on Inglis Falls Road.
“We’re changing what’s currently the back of the building, where the parking lot is, into the front of the building,” he explains. “And because the building is a split-level right now, we’re putting an addition on that side which will be the front that’s at grade… that’s going to make the building more accessible.”
The new entrance will be more accessible because it will also provide an elevator to help clients and visitors to be able to get to the level they need.
The washrooms within the building will be made fully accessible, including a washroom that will be fully universal.
Office spaces and layouts will be reconfigured as well.
The work is expected to take 10 months to complete, and Lanthier says that by this time next year, thee organization is hoping to have staff moving back into the administration centre.
In the meantime, they’re going to be taking up residence in downtown Owen Sound, in the upstairs portion of the post office at the corner of 3rd Avenue and 9th Street East. Office staff are packing up and moving into their temporary home from April 9-11th. They’ll be back in action on Monday, April 14th.
“We’ll have access for the public to come in and see us, there’s a meeting space for our team to meet with the public, should that be necessary,” Lanthier says.
The temporary space also has elevators to help visitors get to the office space, and all of the services that the GSCA offers will stay the same.
Lanthier says that the conservation authority’s operational team will still be working out of their own building near the administration centre.
The Arboretum will also still be available to visitors, but the washrooms at the pavilion may not be available during some work, particularly when water or electricity has to be turned off for construction. There will also likely be less space in the parking lot, as the contractor will need to use the space for work vehicles and materials.
One positive of the construction work is that the Grey Sauble Conservation Authority had to come up with alternative ideas for summer camp programming.
Lanthier says that because the administration centre will be out of commission, they’ve had to find other venues for summer camps, which is an idea that the GSCA has wanted to explore for quite some time.
He says that they hope they can have success with the summer camp being held in new locations can help with future offerings.
“We’ll assess how it goes over the course of the summer, we certainly want to diversify and spread out our environmental education programming and service all of our partner municipalities equally,” Lanthier explains. “So I’m really hopeful that this will blossom into something – to a new way of providing programming.”
They’ll be hosting them throughout the watershed area, including Meaford, The Town of the Blue Mountains, South Bruce Peninsula, and at the Hibou Conservation area.
