VITTORIA residents envisioning a brighter future for the community’s old town hall received good news last week after Norfolk County Council voted to sell the building to a local charitable organization for $1.
Last Tuesday, while meeting as council-in-committee, councillors heard a deputation from Nancy Racz, head of the Vittoria & District Foundation’s Town Hall Committee, advocating for its preferred plan for the historic building.
For her deputation, Ms. Racz played a video about the old town hall’s historical and social value to community members. The video stated, “If it disappears, so does a part of our heritage and community.”
Afterward, council heard from its operations general manager Bill Cridland regarding a report by staff on options for the old town hall’s future.
The report, which was prepared by director of facilities Michael Simoes, recommended Norfolk sell the building to a non-profit for $1 and keep the surrounding parkland, citing “reduced budgetary pressures and minimal negative impacts to the local community” as justification.
Ms. Racz pushed for the same option on behalf of the foundation.
Council first heard the report in the second quarter of 2024 but deferred a decision until last week “as there seemed to be some confusion with the public and some interested groups on what options staff were offering,” Mr. Cridland said. He added that staff have since met with those groups, and he thinks that helped shape a vision for the building.
Following Mr. Cridland’s comments, council quickly passed a motion advanced by Ward 4 Councillor Chris Van Paassen to direct staff to proceed with the recommended option.
The decision was well received among proponents of the old town hall in attendance.
Norfolk’s chosen direction for the building may please those most passionate about it. In November 2023, a public information meeting about the building’s future held at the nearby Vittoria & District Community Centre saw over 300 attendees, some of whom directed their frustration at the possibility of losing the building toward staff and councillors in attendance.
According to Mr. Simoes’ report, the old town hall “is currently vacant and unbookable due to public safety concerns due to structural integrity issues.”
The building’s new owners will now be responsible for what Norfolk estimates to be $1-million in repairs or replacements for its roof, interior, HVAC system, water system, and electrical system.
Last Wednesday, Ms. Racz made another deputation asking council for $300,000 to help the Vittoria & District Foundation take on operating its new building.
Council received her deputation as information but did not offer funding for the group.
—
Originally published January 22, 2025
