A new gathering place for citizens of Ormstown

The Government of Quebec has granted some $1 million in financial assistance, considered to be exceptional, to build a new town hall in Ormstown. The municipality of just over 3000 residents has been without a town hall since 2014.

The previous town hall on Lambton St. no longer met safety standards. "There was contamination in the building and it was falling down around us," pointed out Mayor Chrystian Soucy. Entrepreneur Mathieu Théorêt added that the structural changes carried out on the century old building prevented employees from doing their work properly. The Town Hall employees have been working in the Galeries d'Ormstown shopping mall since 2014.

Well before leaving the premises, Ormstown had plans to build a new town hall. Over the last few years, this building has been the subject of heated debates and even, under the previous administration, an investigation by the ministère des Affaires municipales.

Friday morning, during a symbolic sod turning ceremony, Stéphane Billette, MNA for Huntingdon  and Government Party Whip, noted that the Government had injected $981 825, some 65 % of the total cost of $1,51 M; an exceptional amount.

"The town hall is a symbol of the community," he remarked. "There is the church, the corner store or the school, but the town hall is a gathering point, it's a public space. The town hall being built here will meet the needs of its citizens."

Construction Jacques Théorêt, general contractor, will have the building ready on June 2. Located on rue Gale, the town hall will be close to the Barrie-Memorial Hospital, the municipal garage and the Sûreté du Québec Police Station.

Translated by Cathleen Johnston