FOCUS ON CITY HALL - July 27, 2014 A LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF THE CONSOLIDATED WORKS DEPOT PART ONE The new consolidated works depot on Wentworth St. E. is going to be an election issue this year due to the cost of it and whether it is suitable for the needs of the works department staff. Taking a look at the history of the need of a new works depot brings out significant information. First of all, the reviews and reports started in 1997, fifteen years before the purchase of the Wentworth St. property. Secondly, the City Managers report, dated January 5, 2012, indicated that on initial investigation the consolidation of the sites at Ritson, Conant, Wilson and Farewell would have required a site of at least 30 acres; the sites that had been identified as being large enough were very expensive and/or had incompatible adjacent land uses: and the two significant sites that the City would vacate may not be attractive for others to acquire and develop. That led to the decision to buy the McCord Property on Simcoe St. S. which is adjacent to the works depot site at 845 Ritson Rd. S. and, on purchasing that property, provided a combined 11 acres for the partially consolidated depot. A 90,000 square foot operations centre was proposed to be built on this combined site and, presumably, the existing buildings that were very much outdated would be demolished. The total cost was estimated at $35 million and the City would retain the Farewell St and Howden Rd. properties and continue to lease space on Wilson Rd. for the waste management fleet. Please note that this was the plan for solving the works depot requirements right up to January 5, 2012 after fifteen years of study and reports. It looked like a done deal. However, within the next six months things changed dramatically. The infamous deal between Durham College and the City of Oshawa came out of the blue and the Wentworth St. property suddenly became a priority and, after fifteen years of reports and studies the results of those studies were disregarded. That is why so many people are disenchanted with the haste of that decision and whether the new building actually serves the needs of the works department.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Jul 2014 14:00:11 +0000
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