The Village of Boyle is proceeding with the purchase of land that will house a new administrative building and community library, as well as other potential services, sometime in the near future.
The 12-acre parcel of land is located on Highway 831 south of Clintberg Avenue, according to chief administrative officer Charlie Ashbey.
He said village administration has been looking to acquire land for a new building and library since 2005, but the timeline on the project was recently accelerated as a result of the need to renovate and expand the RCMP K-Division Integrated Traffic Unit and Sheriffs Office that currently resides in the basement of the existing building.
The village is in the process of procuring a long-term lease on the existing administrative building for the RCMP and the Sheriffs Detachment.
Ashbey said this will provide these officers with a quality facility to meet their needs and will ensure their continued presence in the community in the years to come.
“Everything was fast-tracked by the concerns with Highway 63, and we want to do all we can to help step up enforcement in Boyle and along the highway as well. The renovations on the basement will be starting very soon in order to still meet the needs of the traffic services.”
The current plan is to have the Sheriffs take over the council chambers sometime in January, at which time Boyle council will move to a room in the basement of the Boyle Community Centre.
Soon thereafter, ideally in February, the rest of the village administration will be moving over as well in order to allow for the completion of the renovations so that the traffic units can officially take over the use of the building in March to accommodate the six new members.
With the purchase of the 12 acres of land (the price of which has not yet been made public) Ashbey said the village plans to build a new facility to house at least the village administration and the library, and hopes to make it large enough to accommodate the Campus of Continuous Care as well.
“There is a lot to be done for infrastructure like roadways and sewage and we have to find out exactly what we are going to put in the new building, so there is a lot of planning yet to be done at this point, but we are moving ahead,” Ashbey said, noting the move to the new building could take a year or two to complete.
“We want to be able to incorporate as many facilities within one building. Not only is it more accessible for the residents, but the more components we can put together makes the whole project more attractive for grant applications from the province as well. It’s cost saving for everyone.”
The land could also potentially house the new Seniors Drop-In Centre on the same lot, if not in the same building.
Ashbey noted that he doesn’t foresee any of the new buildings having to use more than one or two acres of the whole parcel, and so the plan is to be able to attract future commercial land developments as well.
“This purchase will put the Village in control of some land and will help to attract new developments to the area,” Ashbey said. “We feel that this is a great location as it is along the highway and we will have great visibility with traffic entering the Village from the south.
“It is our belief that in order to sell the village we need to believe in ourselves, and this is one way to show that we are a community with a future.”
