Tiny Township's plans for new Town Hall met with petition to stop the project

Big changes could soon be coming to the Township of Tiny as it prepares to build a new Town Hall despite a petition to stop the project.

"Sometimes tough decisions need to be made, [and] this building will end up saving the township money," said Mayor David Evans.

The decision will involve the town constructing a new administration facility in the next few years - a plan was first presented in 2014 to replace what the mayor calls an aging structure with an inaccessible design.

"We're looking to reduce the impact of overcrowding. We have concerns with health and safety, accessibility issues, and general maintenance of the building requires more and more money every year," said Evans.

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The plan is to build on town-owned land on Concession 9 - an area that Evans said would be large enough to accommodate staff and a growing population.

In 2022, Tiny Township recorded over 19,000 registered voters and a 10 per cent growth in population since 2016, while over the last two and a half years, 300 applications for new homes have been approved.

But the plans have garnered mixed reactions, with many residents in opposition.

"Because we can't afford it. People are living paycheck to paycheck, and the way offices are moving now, they are moving into a hybrid policy," said Karen Zulynik.

Zulynik has lived in Tiny Township for 10 years and started an online petition calling for an end to the project and its $400,000 expenditure for architecture and design fees.

The petition has generated over 1,200 signatures.

"I started that petition to let them know how opposed the community is to that building. Without that petition, it's an okay done deal," said Zulynik.

The town says it will proceed with its plans for the building, with analysis of architectural drafts happening over the next few months.

Still, Zulynik said she plans to continue to fight to put a pause to the project with the help of the community.