New €43M council office build in Monaghan before year end

Monaghan County Council is set to begin developing new civic offices at a site at Rooskey in the centre of Monaghan Town, at a projected cost of €43.57 million, before year end. Elected members voted 15-2 at a special meeting on Monday in favour of proceeding with the project.

A similar vote approved the borrowing of €38M towards the cost of the build, with the difference to be met from existing financial provisions for new offices built up by the council in recent years.

The local authority will borrow the money on a 30-year fixed term loan from the Housing Finance Agency at a rate of 3.3%, leading to interest payments totalling €22M.

Councillors were assured on Monday that approving the project will not lead to an increased rates burden on businesses or negatively impact Council services or other capital projects. Consolidating council operations in a “one-stop shop” will generate savings of approximately €648,000 per annum and save €24.2M in rental expenses, according to a business case circulated to members.

A contract will now be awarded for the building of the offices with a view to work commencing before the end of the year and the project being delivered in 2029. In addition to staff accommodation and facilities, the civic offices will house a public service reception area, a council chamber and meeting rooms, with car-parking and landscaping elements. It will occupy a 5,700 square metre footprint at the centre of an area of Monaghan Town earmarked for a major urban regeneration project in the coming years.

Cllr Seamus Treanor (Ind), a vociferous opponent of the project, made an unsuccessful last-ditch appeal on Monday for it to be “put on the long finger”, branding it “a luxury we can’t afford”. The other councillor to vote against, FF’s P.J. O’Hanlon, presented his own detailed case to the meeting citing concerns in relation to the possibility of project costs escalating over the construction period, the impact of AI and hybrid working on future council staffing needs and the competing demands of other priorities such as housing, roads and town and village regeneration.

Cross party support from the remaining councillors present came when they voted in favour of the development, with only Cllr Seamus Coyle (FF) absent for medical reasons. However, Cllr Raymond Aughey (FF) read a message on his behalf indicating his backing for the project.

A formal motion to proceed was moved by Cllr Alan Johnston (FG), seconded by Cllr Niamh McCooey (SF); with the motion to raise the loan also passed.

Having considered the business case, Cllr Johnston said, in his view, the project passed the highest best practice and governance tests. He welcomed contingencies in the region of €1.8M being made to meet unexpected future cost and inflation increases. Cllr Johnston also noted that construction inflation is currently running at around 2.5-3% and is forecast to remain at this level in the coming years.

He welcomed assurances that there will be no increase in rates or Local Property Tax or reductions in budgets for roads and community development as a result of the build.

“From a financial point of view, this makes sense,” Cllr Johnston added, “and the new civic offices will be good for our ratepayers and the public".

Cllr McCooey referred to the annual rent costs generated by the council currently operating from six different locations and the savings in rent and operational costs projected over the lifetime of the loan. If the Council didn’t build new offices, she noted, they will have to spend considerably on keeping their existing HQ at The Glen in Monaghan Town operational.

“This development will leave an asset for the people of County Monaghan for generations to come,” she added.

FRIGHTENING

Cllr S. Treanor described the future financial implications of the project for the Council as “frightening” and said he didn’t understand why the Council didn’t consult directly with ratepayers before proceeding, as Roscommon County Council had when building their own offices some years ago. Cllr Treanor claimed the Roscommon development, undertaken at the height of a recession, had been delivered at a fixed price with any request by the contractors for “extras” turned down.

“This can’t happen with this project as we are in an inflationary spiral with prices going through the roof,” Cllr Treanor added. He feared other projects and services will suffer if the civic offices proceed, and likened the project to what in the 1990s was branded “the hole in the ground” in Monaghan Town – a planned underground carpark development in the town centre, which was commenced but eventually abandoned.

Cllr O’Hanlon said the business case in favour of the development is founded on assumptions that it will generate savings, improve collaboration and reduce property costs. This assessment is challenged, he stated, by hybrid working, the development of AI and rising construction costs.

The Fianna Fáil man added that large public sector building projects frequently experience budget increases between approval and completion. The council, he said, should assess not only initial capital costs but also lifestyle costs, inflation risks, maintenance expenses and future refurbishment obligations.

Before approving a new HQ, Cllr O'Hanlon said the elected members should obtain actual occupancy data for existing Council buildings, desk utilisation statistics and future workforce accommodation forecasts.

He also urged the members to weigh expenditure on the office against other priorities such as housing delivery, road improvement and road safety, Active Travel and urban and rural regeneration initiatives, and climate adaptation and digital transformation objectives.

Cllrs P. Treanor (SF), Sean Gilliland (FG), Raymond Aughey (FF) and Colm Carthy (SF) also presented arguments in favour of the project.

Welcoming the scrutiny of members, Chief Executive Robert Burns said this decision required close consideration and is a big responsibility on the members as the approving body.

Mr Burns said the reality is that the Council doesn’t have a corporate home to meet the needs of the public and businesses and the reasonable expectations of staff for safe and comfortable working conditions. He made his personal recommendation to proceed after very careful consideration, and deciding to proceed will enter the Council into a new phase of significant risks and opportunities.

The CE added that all construction projects come with risks but the civic offices are at a fairly well developed stage with design completed and planning secured. He thought there had been extensive consultation, and democratic legitimacy had been met in his view as the councillors are representatives of the public.

Going ahead will require the Council’s level of governance, oversight and control of the project to be intensified, and the contingencies put in place are extremely important as a buffer between the offices and the Council’s other projects.

Mr Burns concluded: “I have never seen a project that gets cheaper or easier to do when you delay it unless there are very unusual circumstances. Indecision costs money and not making a decision would be the worst outcome today.”