OLDS — Operations director Scott Grieco says tours of the Town of Olds' $10 million operations centre were a great success.
Three tours of the building were held Aug. 19, more than a year after staff began moving into it.
Grieco was pleased with the turnout.
“We actually anticipated to have about 40 attend the tours and we had just under 50 over three tours, so we had more than anticipated,” he wrote in an email.
Grieco said the tours brought more awareness to the public about what the operations centre does and contains.
He praised the staff members who participated in the event by conducting tours and/or by demonstrating how various pieces of equipment work.
The facility, which spans just over 48,179 square feet, has consolidated staff and equipment from three other town-owned buildings — public works, parks, utilities and facilities staff — into one.
The 15-acre site also houses equipment like graders, parks mowers, snow removal equipment, trucks, road signs and paint for sidewalks and crosswalks.
In addition, it houses sand and salt for roads, materials for road repairs and pipes for the water system and garbage bins. The Olds Fire Department training grounds are also located on the site.
The building was completed in early May 2021, just under a year after construction began.
It was completed on time and just under budget, according to former Olds chief administrative officer Michael Merritt.
Staff began moving equipment and themselves into the new building just after construction was completed.
The facility has been highly controversial among some residents because the Town of Olds obtained permission from the provincial government to increase its debt limit so it could obtain debentures to help cover the construction cost.
A tour of the building revealed that basically its entire top floor is currently empty. Visitors were told that’s to ensure space is available for more staff as the town grows.
During an interview with the Albertan, Grieco conceded that empty floor space may also be controversial, but he sees it as prudent.
“It was built for the future,” he said. “We have a facility that we can grow into as well.”
He also said having all the various operations departments in one building makes work and communication among them more efficient.
It was also pointed out that some of the meeting areas in the new building could be made available for groups in the community to utilize when necessary.
Some residents have criticized the fact that the operations centre is located at the very west end of town.
As a result, last year, residents often saw a line of mowers being driven all the way from there, east on Highway 27 to the Uptowne area in order to cut grass in public spaces.
Grieco said locating the facility at the edge of town is actually an advantage for residents.
He said when staff were located in the older buildings in the Uptowne area, they were “right butted up” against some residential areas.
“Obviously some of this equipment, it’s noisy, big, it’s going up early in the morning. Snow removal can start as early as four in the morning,” he said.
“You know, for mixing sand and salt together, to hear back-up beepers at four in the morning is a challenge, right?
“So typically, you look at most municipalities, they are putting operational facilities on the outskirts of the community.
“This is the perfect area for the ops centre.”
He also noted that the facility may not be at the very edge of town for long because there are plans to expand the community westward over time.
If that happens, operations staff could end up being adjacent to a residential area again, Grieco admitted. But he said this time, it’s expected that a buffer will be put in place to cut down noise.
As for the long line of mowers, Grieco said this year, staff driving those mowers got to their destinations by different routes.
“It’s safer, less visible. We haven’t had a single complaint about a lineup of mowers going down in the morning,” he said. “Not a single complaint.”
Besides, Grieco said, the Town of Olds' tentative budget includes a truck and trailer to pull those mowers or other equipment. Should they be obtained, they would make things more efficient, he added.
