Civic Plaza to lose Spanish influence

By MorinvilleNews.com Staff

Morinville – The Community’s Town Hall will lose part of its name when the $3.5 million facility is reopened this spring. Long known as St. Germain Plaza, the building will henceforth be called St. Germain Place. While the St. Germain portion will remain as homage to Morinville’s first mayor and founder of Les Progress newspaper, Omer St. Germain, the term Plaza will be stricken. Council heard from Morinville’s Director of Public Works Tuesday night that plaza was a Spanish word signifying a public square in a town or city, something administration said is not reflected in the facility’s current location. Additionally, the term plaza has a modern connotation as being synonymous with shopping centres; something that was felt also did not properly reflect the purpose of the building.

The new sign will appear at the top left corner of St. Germain Place’s façade when the building opens this spring. Additional signage on the front of the building will read Morinville Civic Hall and Public Library. The Town’s new logo will be mounted on the wall at the entrance to the building. Some exterior signage will be lit to accommodate the library being open evenings.

Administration said it was important to have the word Morinville on the signage to distinguish Morinville’s offices from those of Sturgeon County, located on 100 Street in Morinville.

But signage is not the only thing getting a bit of a twist and bend. Council’s table within the new Council Chambers overlooking St. Jean Baptiste Park is being designed in an arc formation rather than the straight line the seven-member council presently use. The design change in the millwork is to allow councillors to have greater visibility to one another; something that is believed will facilitate greater communication during discussions and votes.

Project on track

Valcourt said the renovation project is on schedule for a Mar. 31 opening. There was considerable underground work to be done support additional structural elements, including the extension of the library’s northern wall.

Although the project is within budget there are some concerns with some of the project’s bids coming in higher than anticipated. As a result, administration is looking at cost saving measures to ensure the project completes within budget.

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