Three Rivers council meeting Monday to discuss plans for new town hall

The deputy mayor of Three Rivers says council will meet Monday to begin discussions around building a new town hall. 

Montague Town Hall burned down last August and the lot has been vacant ever since. 

Deputy Mayor Debbie Johnston said she was devastated when the structure was destroyed. 

"I spent a lot of time there … we used it as a meeting space as well, we had a board room. It was much more than a town hall to me," she said. 

'It's very inconvenient and time consuming'

Johnston said since August, council has had to operate out of a mobile unit and meet in various places within the town.

"We've been using the town hall in Georgetown, we've been using the playhouse in Georgetown, the fire hall in Montague and a hall in Lower Montague," she said. 

There's 12 councillors so we're going to get all their perspectives on what each thinks a new town hall should look like.-Deputy Mayor Debbie Johnston

She said not having a central location has been inconvenient to both council members and the public. 

"Of course all our meetings are open to the public, so they have to keep track of where the meeting is this week and everything that's needed for the meeting has to be toted there with staff," she said.

"If we need to make copies or something, that's usually not possible depending on the space we're in. So, it's very inconvenient and time consuming for the staff as well."

'Taken a bit longer than people expected'

The municipality of Three Rivers encompasses the boundaries of the Montague, Georgetown and Cardigan fire departments and was amalgamated in September of 2018. 

Johnston said council, the CAO and staff have been busy getting the newly created municipality up to standards set in the Municipal Government Act, which put the town hall on hold.

"We've been laying the foundation, procedural bylaws, all the policies and all the things that are required to do under the new Municipal Act," she said.

"Things have probably taken a bit longer than people expected, but, there's things that were very necessary to build a new town of Three Rivers."

Johnston said council has not yet decided on budget, location or a timeline for the town hall. 

"First we have to determine what we need … the size, what the town hall is for and what we need in the town hall," she said.

"There's 12 councillors so we're going to get all their perspectives on what each thinks a new town hall should look like."

Johnston said she envisions the new location being more spacious than the previous building. 

"I just hope we can all work together … and get a new town hall that suits our needs."

She said the town has insurance money to put toward the cost of the building and that it might reach out to the province for further funding. 

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