Public gets another say on future of Vittoria hall
Questions, ideas can be submitted in advance
Things got testy the last time Norfolk County held a public meeting about the future of the historic town hall in Vittoria.
Some of the nearly 300 attendees who packed the village community centre in November upbraided county staff for allegedly ignoring their questions and bringing no new information to the meeting, while Mayor Amy Martin felt compelled to step in when comments about staff members got personal.
Staff will hope for a calmer meeting of the minds at a second public meeting on March18 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Simcoe’s town hall.
That the venerable town hall — a provincially designated heritage building that dates to 1879 — and an adjoining park are being considered for sale as part of a countywide land use review has the community in a tizzy. The once-bustling community hub has been closed since 2019 and needs more than $1 million in repairs and upgrades.
“(The town hall) has been overlooked and neglected. It could have been fixed,” Vittoria-area resident Nancy Racz, a member of a citizens committee dedicated to preserving Vittoria’s built heritage, said at the November meeting.
County staff left that meeting promising to give residents another chance to share ideas and ask questions about the hall.
Ahead of the March 18 meeting in Simcoe, residents can submit questions, suggestions and ideas online at engagenorfolk.ca, or by filling out comment cards at Service Norfolk locations in Simcoe and Delhi, the customer service counter at the recreation centre on the Simcoe fairgrounds, or at any library branch.
Questions will also be taken from the floor.
Visitors to engagenorfolk.ca can watch a recording of the November meeting and review answers to frequently asked questions about the town hall’s condition and the future of the site.
“As we proceed towards a decision point, we welcome all members of the public to get involved with sessions like this,” Martin said in a statement.
“We want to hear as many suggestions from the community as possible at this second community meeting so Norfolk can consider all options for the future of the Vittoria town hall.”
This will be the last public meeting before a staff report about the town hall comes to council in June.