“We know one thing for sure,” said Mayor Paula Assaly, during a July 21 phone interview. “We are in need of storage space.”

The mayor also noted that storage space is just one of many possible uses for the brick building at the corner of Cartier Boulevard and Higginson Street once the OPP have vacated the premises.

Work on the new Cameron Street building for the detachment is almost complete. Preliminary plans are for the OPP to transfer over all personnel, files, equipment, and other resources from the old detachment station to the new in September. Mayor Assaly noted that is what she and other municipal officials understand is the plan but added that the move could be as late as October.

Once the OPP have moved over into their new quarters, the mayor expects that the town’s first priority for the old building will be a complete inspection of the premises. After the state of the building is assessed, including an inventory of any needed repairs or alterations needed, then municipal staff can prepare a report for council on its potential uses.

“We need to do an evaluation,” said Mayor Assaly. “It (building) could be used for archives, it could be used for (storing) things that are only used seasonally.”

She observed that the Robert Hartley Sports Complex has many items of seasonal sports equipment that could be kept close at hand in the OPP building when not in use. The mayor also noted that the municipality has received inquiries in the past from the Hawkesbury Food Bank about getting storage space in a municipal building for some of its inventory.

“It’s all a possibility,” Mayor Assaly said, about the potential uses for the old OPP building. “But it all depends on what is the town’s final plan.”