The new community hall in Alma is now one step closer to reality.
On April 13 council approved three site plan drawings for the hall in Wallace Cumming Park, which is expected to cost almost $1.38-million.
The drawings, completed by Dawley Engineering, have been reviewed by Mapleton staff, township consultant R.J. Burnside and Associates Ltd., county planners and the Grand River Conservation Authority.
The new, one-storey hall will be approximately 7,300 square feet in size and include a large hall (2,600 square feet), meeting room (650 square feet), kitchen, bathrooms and storage.
Fire Chief Rick Richardson has suggested increasing the size of a water reservoir at the hall site.
“Although the [reservoir] meets the code with 45,461 litres, it could be a benefit to the village of Alma to have a larger storage of possibly 60,000 litres at this site,” said Richardson in a letter to township staff.
Clerk Patty Sinnamon explained the reasoning behind Richardson’s request, saying 45,000 litres represents about seven tanker loads of water, while 60,000 litres is about 10 tanker loads.
Linda Dickson, the county’s Community Emergency Management Coordinator, who was in the gallery for an unrelated matter, noted the request makes sense for the township, which could better respond to a large-scale emergency with the larger reservoir.
Mayor John Green said the township would look into the cost for the bigger reservoir.
Council unanimously approved the plans without much discussion, other than a debate about curbing in one area of the parking lot.
