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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday March 30, 2007 - 7 Catholic board facing $22-M bill to replace administrative offices By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Halton Catholic District School Board trustees got a glimpse of what their coveted new administrative building could look like during a board presentation, last week. Having faced criticism from some board members that the project was moving too quickly without a real objective being set, Giacomo Corbacio, Superintendent, Facility Management Services, made it clear to the trustees that nothing they saw was set in stone. "This is just a concept of what it could look like," he said. "This is a broad brushstroke." Corbacio then called on consultants from Mekinda Snyder Architects Incorporated and Mayhew Consulting Services, who explained what they believed the board needed in an administrative building based on such criteria as space requirements and expected growth. They came to the conclusion that the facility would consist of 61,267 square feet and would require 300 parking spaces. The facility itself would require between 3.9 and 5.4 acres depending on the final height of the structure, which could range from one to five storeys. Of all the elegant sketches, diagrams and figures shown during the presentation, it was the price tag of over $22 million, delivered by Watson & Associates "We don't have $20 million. It ain't coming from the ministry. the ministry doesn't fund administration buildings, so it has to come from internally." Oakville trustee Alice Anne LeMay Economists Ltd, that spurred the most discussion among the trustees. When Corbacio explained that one of the next steps should be to retain a real estate consultant to help find potential properties for the facility, the trustees broke their silence. "I see no point in hiring real estate people until we figure out where the money is coming from," said Oakville trustee Alice Anne LeMay. Burlington trustee Bob Van de Vrande called for the creation of a committee that would examine options for the facility more closely. "I would see the committee as looking at what the various alternatives would be for the location, for the nature and type of facility, to look at financing options and how we can integrate that, so that we do it cost effectively in accordance with our budget restrictions," he said. LeMay opposed this idea, again citing financial concerns. "We don't have $20 million," she said. "It ain't coming from the ministry. The ministry doesn't fund administration buildings so it has to come from inter- nally." Board staff have already spent $25,000 on collecting the information that made up the evening's presentation. Van de Vrande, however, remains adamant that the concept for the facility has to be settled on before looking at financing. "Until we know what we're doing, we can't really determine how much money we need and where it's coming from," he said. "The first step is to find out what we are doing then what the likely cost of that is going to be and then where it's coming from. A number of those things can happen simultaneously because we can identify sources of funding at the same time as we're developing the plans." Other trustees had concerns that the project would siphon funds away from schools like St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School, which one trustee described as falling apart. "I would not support a standalone facility without St. Thomas Aquinas being fully restored," said Anthony Danko, Oakville Trustee. However, in the end the majority of trustees agreed to hold discussion on the proposed committee at their next board meeting on April 10. For Van de Vrande the presentation was insightful, but only the beginning of the board's search for a new administrative building. "I think it's an interesting proposal. It's one of many options we'll be looking at down the road," said Van de Vrande, of the presentation. "I think it's premature to have concept plans before we decide on the process we are going to follow but we have to start somewhere." The board's need to find a new administrative building stems from the poor condi- tions in their existing, aging buildings. Last June, the Catholic board turned down an invitation to relocate to the Halton Campus Project, a proposed government office, which will include administration offices for Halton Region, Halton Regional Police and the Halton District School Board. 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