THUNDER BAY – A report that will outline options for the future housing of the Thunder Bay Police Service has been pushed back to late November.
Police Chief Sylvie Hauth said the COVID-19 pandemic was behind the delay.
The report, initially expected by city council later this month, will examine ways to address what the force describes as a critical shortfall of space and key facilities at its current Balmoral Street headquarters.
It will consider alternatives including building a new, much larger headquarters in a different location, expanding the existing building, and building smaller, supplemental satellite offices. That last option was added at the request of council when some members balked at the price tag for the other options – an estimated $52 million for a new building, $64 million to renovate the current one.
In a memo to council ahead of its meeting on Monday, Hauth cited the COVID-19 as the cause of the delay to the report, prepared by Form Studio Architects and RPL Architects.
The updated version is now set to be presented to the Thunder Bay Police Services Board for review in late-October, with Hauth suggesting it will now come to council on Nov. 23.
