Amherstburg council agreed to move forward Monday night with the potential relocation of town hall to the former General Amherst High School.
Council directed administration to proceed with negotiations with Valente Development Corporation, and asked for a report to be brought back with a funding plan.
Back in September, council approved a proposal in principle from Valente to develop a new town hall within the former high school.
35,000 square feet would be set aside for the town hall, including building a multi-purpose council chambers with a civic theatre.
The proposed development would also include residential living, retail stores and restaurants, gym, two new parks and two designated parking lots.
Councillor Donald McArthur said the proposal was worth continuing to explore.
"We can't keep throwing good money after bad here in town hall. It could be up to $6 million or $6.5 million just to sort of spruce this place up and that's only going to last for a couple of years, and that's still not going to have enough space for everything."
Mayor Michael Prue echoed McArthur's remarks and noted the current building was not in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).
"I looked at the numbers and I looked at the cost, and yes, it's $6 million to keep us in here for five years, that's $6 million wasted in my view. If you're only going to stay here for five years I wouldn't spend a dime, just suffer through it, but there are many things wrong, particularly the AODA compliance."
Deputy mayor Chris Gibb said council needed to take action.
"In order to make an informed decision we have to have all the information, so yes, we've got to move forward. We're not committed to anything, but we definitely have to move forward so that can chart the future course for this municipality."
The town launched two community surveys to gather public feedback on the relocation proposal.
One survey was done on Talk the Burg, where 84 people responded.
42.9% support the proposal, 41.7% do not support, and 15.5% considering it an opportunity but want to know more.
The other survey was done on FlashVote, where 175 local residents participated.
The results had 54.8% support the moving Town Hall, 25.1% oppose and 17.1% were neutral.