HomeMy WebLinkAboutFarming '92, 1992-03-18, Page 14A14. FARMING ’92, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18,1992.
Farming '92
N0O WEST EUTVAXtCE.
SaR ffifipauii
After long wait, Huron gets new OMAF building
After years of waiting, Huron
County farmers are just weeks
away from having a new Ontario
Ministry of Agriculture and Food
office for the county.
Delayed for years for one reason
and another, construction of the
new building on Don St. in the
northwest comer of Clinton, began
last October and now members of
20 different subcontractors are
swarming over the building trying
to get it finished for sometime in
April.
Bob Humphries, OMAF Agricul
tural Representative for Huron
County says he's excited about the
improved service his staff will be
able to give Huron County farmers
when the move from the cramped
downtown-Clinton office can final
ly be made. As in most occupations
in this time of rapid changes, con
tinuing education for people in
agriculture is always necessary, Mr.
Humphries says. He wants to see
the new building the focus point for
"tuned-in seminars" for Huron's
agricultural sector and his staff is
currently talking to people and
groups about what programs can be
provided in the new facility. It's
nice that people won’t have to drive
out of the county to get many
courses now, he said.
Last week, clad in work boots
and hard hat, he toured the 8900-
square-foot building as workmen
battled below-zero weather to rush
the project towards completion.
The first thing the public using the
new facility will experience
(besides, perhaps, some initial diffi
culty finding the out-of-the-way
location) is the abundant parking
that will be available at the new
building, set in a park-like setting
on a two-acre lot. In front of the
building is parking space for more
than 20 cars, including space
reserved for handicapped drivers.
Behind the building is an even larg
er parking lot with more than 40
spaces which can be used by staff
and people attending meetings in
the conference room. It’s hard to
know who will appreciate the park
ing more, the clients who used to
find it hard to find a parking spot in
the downtown core, the staff who
were constantly risking the ire of
local merchants (there were six
official parking spaces at the old
building so most staff had to park
on the street), or the downtown
merchants who complained OMAF
staff and clients were taking spaces
their customers needed.
The building has two separate
sections, one for day-to-day opera
tions and one for meetings and
seminars. Designers have designed
it so the meeting areas can be
closed off from the offices so that
people can have nighttime meetings
without security concerns.
People coming for information or
to meet with one of the OMAF
counsellors will arrive at the front
door off Don St. The building has
been turned on a 45 degree angle
from the street to avoid some areas
on the site that soil tests had indi
cated might not support the large
structure. The entrance area will
have automatic doors to help those
with handicaps. Inside a glass door
will seal off the business offices on
the right at night from the meeting
area.
Inside the front door to the right
is a reading area where people can
sit and browse through the publica
tions offered by OMAF. Next-door
is a small room for staff to meet
clients for counselling, a simple
room with a large table and some
chairs.
The spaciousness of the new
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quarters compared to the old will
perhaps best be appreciated by the
secretarial staff which will work
behind the main reception desk.
Today the secretaries are scattered
throughout the cramped building,
stuck in whatever comer was avail
able and their equipment sits in
hallways and other unused space.
In the new building they'll all be
together in an open area, flooded
by natural light from the large win
dows facing north toward open
fields in Goderich Township.
They'll be close to the electronics
room with the central computer and
FAX machine. Next door is a large
central filing room where most of
the files in the building will be kept
(individual offices may have a sin
gle filing cabinet).
When a client calls, Mr.
Humphries says, the OMAF staffer
will call a secretary and ask that
their file be pulled. The file will
then be ready as the staffer and the
client go to the counselling room.
Next door again is a secretarial
work area which will include steel
shelving for storage, the large pho
tocopier and a work table. A unique
feature of these rooms is that
although they are interior rooms,
they will have some natural light
through glass panels that overlook
the bright secretarial area.
The offices of individual special
ists are strung out along the long
south wall of the building. Despite
the almost palatial appearance of
the building compared to the old
Continued on page A15