The proposed new town hall is still about two years away from reality according to a report included in the 2008 proposed budget for The Blue Mountains.

Council and staff are still wrestling with several issues, including how big the building should be and how it will be funded.

The latest timeline, included in a capital project report in the budget, calls for the public input process and council consideration to continue through to April of this year. Contract documents would be drawn up during the spring and summer, with the project going to tender sometime in August or September. If all of that holds true, construction would begin in October of this year and continue through most of 2009.

The report, prepared jointly by the town's building and financial services departments, says the town will need about 18,500 square feet of public, meeting, and administration space. Council still has a choice between expanding the existing building to a little more than double its current size or constructing a new building.

Expansion would cost about $3 million while a new building is estimated in the neighbourhood of about $4.1 million. There would be additional costs of about $450,000 for site works such as demolition, paving, lighting, and landscaping, project management, fixtures and equipment.

The pros and cons of expanding versus a new building were outlined in a report last spring. Besides being too small, the existing building needs extensive structural and mechanical upgrades.

Town council has moved its meetings to the L.E. Shore Library so the council chamber could be converted to office space.

Public focus groups favoured a new building, closer to the street to make it more visible and allow more use of the grounds for public events. The focus groups advised against incuding commercial space or space for community groups.

The town purchased the former Esso service station at Mill and Bridge Streets to accommodate expansion of the town hall, either as parking/public space if the existing building is expanded or as a potential building site for a new facility.

Most of the construction costs would be in the 2009 budget. The long-term forecast includes a figure of about $3.8 million for construction next year, and about $250,000 in 2010, when an additional $125,000 is included for furniture, fixtures and equipment.

The 2009 forecast calls for $100,000 toward demolition and site works, with another $175,000 in the 2010 for landscaping, paving, lighting and other work.

One of the issues for council has been the source of funding. Original estimates called for about half the costs to come from sewer and water reserves. During the budget review process, a new report said 60 per cent of the costs should come from tax funds, 30 per cent from water and sewer funds, and 10 per cent from building and planning department revenues.

Each of those sources would include money from development charges and reserves that have been put aside over the years, but the town would finance about $2.8 million against future development charges and user fee revenues.

But Councillors Cam Kennedy and John McGee have argued that water and sewer reserves should be used for water and sewer projects. Others on council responded that it isn't fair to expect general taxpayers to fund the whole cost while the facility houses admnistration space for the water and sewer department and the building department which have separate sources of revenue.