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Tillsonburg POST
MAY 29, 2025
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Town council likely closer to selecting town hall site JEFF HELSDON Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
It’s likely Tillsonburg council is closer to selecting a site for a new town hall. The word ‘likely’ should be used in connection with the matter, as a decision was made in a closed session resulting from a staff report outlining the costs and pros and cons of the three potential sites for the town hall. CAO Kyle Pratt presented the report outlining the three sites with a recommendation that council select an option and proceed with a detailed design for the selected site. The three sites are the present customer service centre on Lisgar Avenue; what is referred to as the greyfield site, which is town-owned land at the corner of Harvey and Brock Streets; and the former Peavey Mart site at 121 Concession Street East. Each site had both a high and low-cost estimate. The customer service centre at 10 Lisgar Ave would require the demolition of the current building. It has the highest costs with both low and high estimates of $10.9 and $12.4 million for a 19,745-square-foot building. Pros for this site included public familiarity with the site, the town owning the land, and high visibility. Cons for the site included high costs, an inefficient layout with a long and narrow property, temporary relocation costs, limited expansion potential, and limited parking. The greyfield site has the lowest costs on both the high and low estimates at $7.4 million and $11.4 million for a square footage of 16,193. Construction costs for a new build were based on the costs of recent new town halls in Zorra Township and East Zorra-Tavistock with updates for inflation. This building would be two floors and would contain an elevator. CONTINUED TO PAGE 2
AND THEY’RE OFF...
(JEFF HELSDON PHOTO)
The Tillsonburg Rotary Club’s Duck Race saw 720 rubber ducks hit the waters of the Otter Creek on Saturday to see which would be the first through the winner’s chute in front of The Mill. Scott Wass’ duck was the winner, netting him $2,500. Melinda Stefan’s second-place duck earned her $1,000 and the third-place finisher was worth $500 to Melissa Carroll-Phillips. Proceeds from the event will go to the club’s food pantry project.
Frank Kempf named Citizen of the Year JEFF HELSDON
Editor
On any given day, thousands of Tillsonburg residents walk, ride or drive by Lake Lisgar. The town’s only lake draws people in the way many bodies of water do, but its allure to one man turned into a symbiotic relationship that benefitted the lake in many ways. His efforts to keep the lake healthy were recognized when Frank Kempf was named Tillsonburg Citizen of the Year. The honour was official when town council confirmed the minutes of its Museum, Culture, Heritage and Special Awards Advisory Committee at the May 12 council meeting. While discussing the nomination, Mayor Deb Gilvesy
commented that she calls Frank ‘The Keeper of the Lake’. Kempf was shocked when he learned he had been named Citizen of the Year. He was aware of the nomination, as fellow members of the Kinsmen Club had asked his permission to submit his name. “I said if you feel I’ve made a contribution to the Town of Tillsonburg, that would be okay,” he recounted. Kempf’s involvement with Lake Lisgar started in an ironic way. He was working as a constable with the OPP when a call came in about a chemical spill in the lake in 2011. “Because I grew up on a farm, I knew it was just an algae bloom,” he said. However, in the ensuing conversation, Kempf was told he should do something about the problem, which eventually he did. CONTINUED TO PAGE 2
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