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The third phase of the renovation of Smith Falls City Hall is about to begin.

During the special committee of the plenary session on Monday night, the town council finalized the third phase of the transformation of the city hall.

On November 29th, Dan Wojcik, the architect of +VG, introduced the third and final phase of the renovation project to the council. He discussed the upgrade of the council chamber, the project timetable and the work done so far.

The renovation project lasted four years in three phases and is expected to be completed by the end of the summer of 2022, depending on the instructions of the city council.

During the entire committee meeting, the council approved the design of this part of the project.

The design plans were revised at the meeting in early October; they included a horseshoe-shaped rest area and a rest area for council members.

The third phase of the project will maintain continuity with the previous second phase (on the ground floor of the city hall) by linking similar wood tones, paint colors and floors to the proposed parliamentary meeting hall and camera-in-camera meeting room .

According to the introduction, the material finishes selected for the final stage of the project will not only complement other areas of the city hall, but will also "provide a simple and timeless design."

Wojcik stated that the material finishes will meet commercial durability and wear standards, facilitate replacement and maintenance, and refer to the characteristics of the original assembly hall.

The City Council also provided guidance on the requirement of the City Heritage Committee to use custom-made heritage wooden windows instead of the proposed aluminum-clad wooden windows.

According to the introduction, the cost of customizing traditional wooden windows is 170,000 US dollars, and the cost of aluminum-clad wooden windows is about 75,000 to 80,000 US dollars.

Wojcik said that aluminum-clad wooden windows will still bring warmth to the room like traditional windows, but the outside will be made of aluminum and look like painted wood.

"The issue of ongoing maintenance of heritage windows is important," Wojcik said.

"I prefer wooden (traditional) windows," Kuhn said. Lorraine Allen. "We didn't invest a lot of money or time in our heritage buildings. I think this is what we should do."

Mayor Shawn Pankow said that a well-trained eye may see the difference between the two windows, but from a street level, aluminum windows look suitable, and less maintenance means that the burden on the council will be reduced in the future. .

County Niki Dwyer also supports the aluminum-clad window proposal, pointing out that the city hall has only two original windows.

The City Council decided to adopt aluminum-clad windows in the third phase of the project.

The final design also includes modifications to the south facade of the building, replacing the existing doors with windows, and filling masonry with stones on site, which will match the current situation. Wojcik said in the presentation that the handrail design of the front door has also been modified.

(Jessica Munro is a local news initiative reporter, working for the Brockville Recorder and Times. The local news initiative is funded by the Canadian government.)

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