After a busy week of packing and a hectic weekend move for 280 city workers, the first customers made their way into Windsor's new city hall.
The doors to the new building opened to the public at noon Tuesday.
“It's a much different experience that we provided at the other building, that was built in the 1950s, this has a different focus in mind, and that's customers first," says Mayor Drew Dilkens.
From marriage licences to bingo filings, taxpayers waited briefly in a new, automated cue, punched their name into a computer and waited for it to be called.
“I think I was one of the first people up here,” says resident Michael Gillis. “It's pretty easy, they call you up on the screen right away."
Another customer Jackie Rivard says "it was a little confusing out front, but it's a beautiful building, a couple of glitches they said they'll work out, but very beautiful."
Lanny Tong didn't come to city hall for any service Tuesday, just to take in the memory.
“The employees of the City of Windsor deserve this facility and it should be very rewarding for the citizens of the City of Windsor," says Tong.
Employees had the morning to unpack boxes and prepare for their first day in the new digs.
“It's awesome, it's a little bit overwhelming," says city employee Sara Summer.
The new city hall chewed up $30-million of a $44-million budget.
"This building is now paid for, so we didn't have to increase taxes to do it, we built it into our capital budget," says Dilkens.
The remaining $14 million will be spent on the demolition of the old facility, as well as a new civic plaza.
Dilkens says nothing is set in stone, but "where I want to put the money, if we're going to spend more money, it into the amenities that the public can enjoy.
“Some civic plaza outside that would be a functioning skating rink, that would have a functioning water feature, splash pad feature in the summer time. There are all sorts of different ideas," says Dilkens.
