How the COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping plans to build a new City Hall
Council is reconsidering City Hall’s long-term need for office space after the pandemic accelerated work-from-home opportunities for civic employees.
“It seems like we’re turning what was a very difficult and challenging situation into a potential positive,” explained Deputy Mayor Josh Morgan.
An update to City Hall’s Master Accommodation Plan (MAP) determined that maintaining alternative work strategies will reduce the amount of work jspace needed to deliver municipal services by approximately 20 per cent (56,000 square feet).
In an accompanying report, the city treasurer writes that the alternative work strategy enacted during the pandemic, “has resulted in no significant impact to service levels.”
An internal survey of more than a thousand municipal employees found that those who working at home feel more productive and prefer the flexibility.
The treasurer recommends a gradual approach.
Councillor Steve Lehman agrees, “I like the use of pilot (projects) to test the waters on such things as employee satisfaction, productivity, and cost savings.”
“This also has the opportunity to make an impact on our greenhouse gas emissions,” added Councillor Shawn Lewis.
The MAP report estimates reducing office space and employees commuting each day could reduce City Hall’s carbon emissions by 40 per cent.
Just two weeks before the pandemic began, council approved the multi-year budget including $13 million in consulting fees to design a new $125.5 million City Hall building.
The deputy mayor says more affordable options may now be viable.
“That could be a public-private partnership, it could be utilization of our existing spaces in a more efficient way, it could be the construction or consolidation of new spaces,” says Morgan. “That’s determined through the update to the Master Accommodation Plan and the RFP that would follow.”
Funding for work-from-home pilot projects will come from within existing departmental budgets.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expression
Michelangelo's David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue's religious and political significance is being diminished.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.