Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities employees who squeeze into the organization’s Regina head office are looking forward to some breathing room.
In fact, a new planned head office would allow all employees to be in the same building.
SARM announced late last month that it has bought property from SaskPower for $625,000.
The four lots are behind the existing SARM head office. The crown corporation had been using the site as an employee parking lot.
SARM president David Marit said the two-storey head office is too small for an organization that has grown and accepted additional duties from the provincial government.
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SARM has about 25 employees. The four who work on bridge and road engineering projects are based in another building because of the cramped space.
The organization’s boardroom also contains several small offices that aren’t ideal for the employees, Marit said.
“Our discussion now will be to what size we’re going to build.”
SARM will need two floors of space, but the final design will include one or two extra floors for tenants.
“We’ve had informal talks about rental space at commercial rates,” Marit said. “We’re not going to overbuild it. Two floors will be enough for us.”
The existing building has been appraised and will be sold once the new one is complete. Marit expects the move to occur by fall 2013.
The board approached the 298 member rural municipalities two years ago about the need to start a building fund. The funds raised since then will pay for the land purchase, Marit said.
