Concern raised about city hall's wasteful 'ghost' floor (9 photos)

Little is said about it, but one entire floor sits vacant at taxpayer's expense in Sault Ste. Marie's Civic Centre.

The subject of the mothballed sixth floor came up today at a community meeting.

"It's kind of like a storage space up there," a woman who didn't provide her name said at a strategic planning session organized by the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library.

"I just don't understand why it's empty," the woman said. "There's not a soul up there."

City hall's 'ghost' floor has been largely unoccupied since the summer of 2011, when Algoma Public Health moved into its new facility at 294 Willow Avenue.

Later that year, after a fire at the Sault Ste. Marie Court House, the sixth floor was renovated to serve as a temporary home for the Superior Court of Justice.

Our unnannounced visit

"Bet you never see anyone punch the button for the sixth floor," SooToday told a gaggle of municipal staffers as we stepped today into a City Hall elevator.

"No, there's nothing up there," one worker replied.

In February of this year, then-Chief Administrative Officer Joe Fratesi told a budget meeting that the city is very willing to lease space on the sixth floor to a compatible tenant.

It would seem compatible tenants are in short supply.

When SooToday paid an unannounced visit to the vacant floor today, we found it empty and, for the most part, locked up and in darkness.

A few minutes after we arrived, a staffer from the building services department emerged from the elevator, expressing concern for some summer students who he said were working on the floor.

We would need permission to tour the sixth floor, he said.

We left, satisfied that the images we'd taken (see photo gallery below) captured the scene adequately.

Scenic outlook?

"There's a beautiful view of the river," said the woman speaking at today's strategic planning session at the Centennial Library.

She wondered whether it might be a dandy spot for Mayor Christian Provenzano's office, or for some kind of scenic public lookout.

The subject of the unoccupied floor came up when Roxanne Toth-Rissanen, the Sault's director of libraries, said that no location owned by the City of Sault Ste. Marie would be suitable as a library location.

When advised of the vacant space at city hall, Toth-Rissanen pointed out that library floors require a very high load-carrying capacity to handle the weight of books.

She thought it might be as high as 300 pounds per square foot.

One participant pointed out that additional space might be freed at Centennial Library if administrative staff were moved to the Civic Centre or another location.

Move administrators out of Centennial Library?

Today's strategic planning input session was chaired by Toth-Rissanen, whose name has been curiously and repeatedly spelled Roth-Rissanen in Sault Star photo captions ever since she was named as Sault Ste. Marie's top librarian last December.

The meeting at Centennial Library, intended to focus on seniors' concerns, attracted three citizens.

A second session aimed at families is planned  for 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow (Friday) at the Korah Branch  at 556 Goulais Avenue.

An all-day session will take place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Station Mall on Wednesday July 8 and a further consultation is planned for July 9 at Market Square.

Working without a strategic plan since 2013

The library board is preparing a new strategic plan to take the institution to 2018.

The Sault library has been without a strategic plan since 2013, a fact largely attributed to turnover in the director's position in recent years.

Toth-Rissanen said library administrators want to retain the Churchill branch, but want more space for seating and computers, while paying the same rent.

They also favour renovating the main Centennial Library on the waterfront.

"This structure could support a second floor," one participant said. "It was built with that intention."