Rideau Lakes Township’s committee of the whole has endorsed a lower-cost approach to stabilizing the former cistern beneath the Elgin Municipal Complex, recommending an $88,923.29 contract be awarded to Peak Contracting Solutions.
The recommendation, approved June 22, follows a redesign that will see the existing steel beams and floor left in place while approximately 45 cubic metres of Agilia concrete is used to fill the underground space. The revised approach reduces the project cost by $32,294.24 from the original estimate of $121,217.53.
Manager of Facilities and Parks Steve Holmes said staff worked with the lowest bidder after the initial recommendation came before committee June 8 to develop a less expensive solution, which was subsequently approved by the project’s structural engineer.
Deputy Mayor Jeff Banks initially praised the revised plan, saying it was “a great way to move forward,” before questioning whether the township should seek additional quotes for the concrete work.
After realizing he had misread the report and that the savings amounted to about $32,000 rather than $80,000, Banks argued the amount charged beyond the concrete itself appeared high and suggested another contractor might offer a better price.
Holmes said the township had already completed a competitive tender process and cautioned that reopening it could place the municipality in a position of acting in bad faith toward the successful bidder. He noted the project involves far more than pouring concrete.
“The fee does not only include concrete,” Holmes said, explaining the work also includes mobilization, confined-space work, barricades, slab repairs and other site restoration.
Holmes said approximately 45 cubic metres of concrete will be required at a cost of about $22,000, with the remainder of the contract covering labour, equipment, site preparation and associated construction work.
Coun. Linda Carr asked how many bids had been received through the tender process. Holmes said three contractors submitted bids.
Carr said the work had been publicly tendered and supported proceeding with the negotiated price.
Coun. Paula Banks said she would support the recommendation, adding she was concerned about years of deferred maintenance at the municipal complex.
“The maintenance at this building has been deferred, deferred, deferred,” she said, praising Holmes for finding savings while moving the project forward. She added she still has concerns about the building’s floating floor and in-floor heating system but believes the stabilization work should proceed.
Coun. Dustin Bulloch agreed, saying council is working against the clock.
“We have an engineering report that is saying that we need to complete this work, I believe, by the beginning of September,” he said. “We’ve got a contractor that’s wanting to work with us, has found another way to do this that saves us $30,000. I think we just have to move forward and get these repairs done.”
Jeff Banks reiterated before the vote that while the original tender covered repairing the building rather than specifically filling the void with concrete, he believed obtaining another quote would ensure taxpayers received good value.
Committee ultimately approved the recommendation without opposition. This will go to a future council meeting for final approval.
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