OLDS — The Town of Olds' new administration office and council chamber in the Olds Municipal Centre are a hit with mayor Judy Dahl and deputy mayor Dan Daley.
The move to the building, located on 70th Avenue north of Rotary Athletic Park, became necessary when the municipality sold its current administration office building near Boston Pizza, to Westview Co-op last November.
“I think it's great actually, myself,” Daley said during an interview with the Albertan. “The new space is very efficient. It builds the whole team environment. There's a lot of open offices. There's a lot of open space.
“And I think having everybody under one roof is so efficient, now that you've got a little one-stop-shop kind of thing.”
Mayor Dahl said, “Well, for me, I know, because I'm still working in the office there, that the interaction with the staff, the council and the CAO is very close. I could sit and hear things in the hallway now, and people are always giggling and laughing.
“I just love the interaction,” she added. “You walk down the hall and and the staff room is like a cafeteria.
“They're not afraid to sit and have coffee with council, which is better for us, because we interact. Everybody interacts together. Nobody's afraid of anybody. There's no fear. I love it.”
Construction of the 48,179-square-foot facility formerly known as the Operations Centre, began in 2020 at an estimated cost of $10 million.
The idea was to consolidate staff and equipment from three other town-owned buildings — public works, parks, utilities and facilities staff — into one.
It officially opened in May 2021, just under a year after construction began.
The 15-acre site also houses equipment like graders, parks mowers, snow removal equipment, trucks, road signs and paint for sidewalks and crosswalks.
In addition, it houses sand and salt for roads, materials for road repairs and pipes for the water system and garbage bins.
The Olds Fire Department training grounds are also located on the site.
Dahl said legislative coordinator Marcie McKinnon and technology staff have done a “bang-up job” creating the council chamber.
"It was a real challenge, but they did it, and it's beautiful,” she said.
However, Dahl said the new chamber will be “a little challenge for us,” because that space is smaller than the chamber was in the former town office.
She said municipal officials will get around to that when necessary by moving meetings which might attract more people than usual to larger venues in town.
An elevator currently in the building may not suitable for everyone either, Dahl said.
“There is an elevator. However, there are some challenges with people that might be claustrophobic and stuff. We're still going to be aware of all those challenges,” she said.
“In the future, I could see there'll have to be some improvements, because it is a small elevator.”
On the other hand, “nobody's complaining about the steps and stairs. I love them. There's I think 28 to 30 steps up and down every time you go,” she said.
“I've witnessed a lot of businesses coming in and speaking to the staff, and no questions asked. They're just doing business as business.”
Another positive aspect is the view.
“We haven't had any complaints. The scenery is amazing because you're facing west,” she said.
