Slave Lake marks another milestone, as new Town Hall opens its doors for the first time

Slave Lake's new Town Hall is back up and running, nearly two years after a fire destroyed nearly a third of the town's structures.

Nearly two years after a wildfire tore through the northern Alberta community, the Town of Slave Lake is marking another step forward.

Tuesday was a major milestone for the community, that lost nearly a third of the town’s buildings in the massive wildfire back in May, 2011.

Among the buildings lost was the Town Hall, which had only been finished a year before the fire.

On Tuesday, it was the first day of operations inside the town’s new Government Centre.

“It’s exciting, it’s really nice to be back,” Slave Lake CAO Brian Vance said.

“We’re only just getting to the stage where we can step back and say ‘Wow, we’re in here’.”

While town staff settles into their new work spaces, crews are still putting the finishing touches on the new building.

“[It’s] a relief, a relief it’s done,” Construction foreman Frank Churchill said.

And he should know the feeling, this is the second time he’s built Slave Lake’s Town Hall – he helped to build the version destroyed by the fire in 2011.

That building took three years to build, but the new one only took 18 months – and it’s a near copy of its predecessor.

“This is a huge part of our community that disappeared, and now it’s back,” Town councillor Tyler Warman said.

The $25 million in construction costs was covered by insurance claims.

Although it’s in operation now, a grand opening is expected to be held in the fall.

Of the 370 structures lost in the fire, about 300 have either been rebuilt, or are under construction.

“So there’s still lots of work to be done, but I think it’s incredible how much has been done at this point,” Warman said.

While the new Town Hall is only one of those buildings, it’s significance marks an important breakthrough for rebuilding the community.

“It’s a message to Alberta, it’s a message out to the people, here, we are, we’re coming back and we’re stronger than ever,” Warman said.

With files from Bill Fortier