Could Oxford Public Health move in with the Woodstock CHC in the future?
An intriguing idea is being floated to County Council on Wednesday night that's already capturing the imagination before it's even tabled.
Oxford's CAO, Peter Crockett, is asking council to allow county staff to explore moving public health out of their current facility, and into the former post office building at Peel St. and Metcalf.
Firstly, such a move would bring more County staff closer to home base: the County Administration Building.
It may also bring about some synergies between the health services of Oxford Public Health and the Woodstock and Area Community Health Centre at 35 Metcalf St.
The other opportunity the move could create is opening up some potentially prime office space in the courthouse square. With the CAS building soon to be vacated for their new facility, there could be a lot of property opening up that may be attractive to the private sector.
In Heart FM's Webchat with the Warden, Don McKay suggests, "Some of the opportunities that people are suggesting: paralegal services, court related services, office space there, attracting high quality jobs to our area."
McKay says maybe even a post-secondary institution would consider opening up some sort of court themed campus in those buildings.
But while the possibilities seem boundless, McKay points out the discussion is very preliminary, "What we're asking for is for council to say 'Yes, this is worth considering'. I would hope that council would, and I would hope that the public would then be engaged and offer their suggestions. Is it an efficiency in bringing services closer together? Would it be advantageous to attract more high skilled jobs to our community in the core?"
More with McKay in this week's Webchat with the Warden:

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