BANFF – An increased budget has been approved for much-needed renovations in the Town of Banff’s planning department to create offices for staff.
Council had previously approved $15,000 for minor renovations to create a dedicated office for the new full-time energy coordinator role, but approved another $30,000 on Oct. 11 to create workspaces for two more people.
Mayor Corrie DiManno voiced support for the extra funds, saying people need a place to work.
“I think administration has done a great job of trying to do Tetris with workspaces, but now it might be becoming Pac-Man,” she said.
“I can appreciate they are trying to make the best use of the space… we need to make sure folks are properly stationed for working.”
In addition to needing space for the municipal energy coordinator, the municipality’s waste coordinator has moved from the operations department based in the industrial compound to the planning department at Town Hall. A summer student intern position is also attached to this role.
This led to administration’s request for an additional two workspaces in the planning department.
Darren Enns, the director of planning and development for the Town of Banff, said the renovations involve converting a portion of the existing open space as well as storage areas into small, enclosed offices.
“Administration has received quotes for the proposed scope of work and is ready to proceed with construction,” said Enns.
“We found that construction budgets are not getting smaller, but we were very fortunate to get three local bidders… we realized that our $15,000 was great for one office space, but not three.”
A request of this nature would not typically come outside of the Town of Banff’s municipal service review and budget process, but Enns said there is a pressing need for staff workspace in the planning department.
“The pandemic presented an opportunity in terms of how we used physical space and a lot of people disappeared from building, but now that that’s changing and people are coming back, the physical space requirements return," he said.
Councillors Hugh Pettigrew and Ted Christensen wanted the renovations put off until 2023.
Coun. Pettigrew said he was concerned the request was coming outside of service review.
“I’m trying to understand the sense of urgency,” he said.
“We haven’t seen the requests for 2023 and how it’s going to impact us and certainly, in my opinion, a lot of large expenditures and costs are coming our way possibly.”
