Smiths Falls council has directed staff to proceed with the original design of its proposed Public Works Operations Centre, with the project’s anticipated cost reduced by approximately $275,000 after a revised furniture estimate.
The direction came during council’s Sept. 8 committee meeting, one week after councillors delayed awarding the construction contract and asked staff to examine possible reductions to the $10.46-million project.
No formal contract was awarded Tuesday. The matter is expected to return to council soon for approval.
The original estimate included approximately $9.38 million for construction, $264,866 for design and contract administration, $415,000 in contingency funding and $400,000 for furnishings.
Public Works director Paul McMunn said the $400,000 furniture allowance was a high-level estimate. After the Aug. 31 meeting, staff contacted Grand & Toy through municipal procurement programs and received what McMunn described as a “very high-level quote” of about $125,000.
That would reduce the anticipated project cost to approximately $10.18 million and lower the proposed debt financing from about $9.17 million to $8.89 million. The balance would be covered by a $1.29-million insurance settlement received after a fire destroyed the former public works garage in February 2025.
Staff presented three options after council requested possible scope reductions.
The most significant change would have removed the entire 4,300-square-foot administrative wing and the proposed $200,000 fuel depot. That option was estimated to reduce the project to approximately $9.01 million, including $600,000 to renovate about 1,000 square feet of Town Hall for staff who would otherwise move to the new facility.
A second option would have removed approximately 2,000 square feet from the administrative wing and eliminated the fuel depot, bringing the project cost to about $9.27 million.
The third option identified $405,000 in potential reductions, including the $275,000 furniture adjustment. Other proposed changes included lower-grade flooring and lighting and removing garage workbenches, yard lighting, security cameras and high-bay door curtains.
Most councillors opposed those additional cuts, citing durability, security and increased heating costs.
Mayor Shawn Pankow said there was only about a $1.2-million difference between proceeding with the original design, minus the furniture adjustment, and removing the administrative wing while renovating Town Hall.
He said future additions would likely cost more if the town underbuilt the facility now.
Pankow estimated financing the project would require a tax increase of less than 2.5 per cent over a 30-year borrowing period, depending on interest rates when the debt is issued.
Coun. Jay Brennan said he initially considered the $400,000 furniture estimate “astronomical,” but supported retaining the remainder of the design.
Coun. Dawn Quinn also supported the original proposal, saying the existing public works building had been in poor condition for years and the town needed to construct a facility that would serve future needs.
Coun. Peter McKenna suggested retaining any savings in the project’s contingency fund. However, committee chair Jennifer Miller summarized council’s direction as proceeding with the original proposal while reducing the furniture allowance.
Coun. Steve Robinson said he remained uncomfortable with the price but believed delaying or retendering the project could leave taxpayers paying the same amount, or more, for a smaller building.
“I’m not supporting it because I think it’s a great deal,” Robinson said. “I’m supporting it because I don’t want to have to explain why next spring we delayed the project, ended up with less building and still paid the same or more for it.”
Coun. Chris McGuire remained opposed, arguing that concerns contributing to the cost had been identified earlier but were not addressed before the project reached the tender stage.
“I think I’m extremely disappointed in the way council has reviewed this project from the get-go because all of the problems that led to the high cost were identified early on in the process,” McGuire said.
“We’re so far down the road, what I’m hearing is that we can’t delay it, we can’t do this or that because the train has left the station. But we never addressed the problems when they came up.”
McGuire questioned the number of private offices, separate lunchrooms and washroom facilities, four showers, and a mechanic’s bay despite the town not currently employing a mechanic.
“In 2026, it’s completely unreasonable to build an office space where everybody gets a private room,” he said. “The reason for that is the cost. It’s throwing our cost out of whack here.”
He also challenged the lack of a financial business case for the $200,000 fuel depot.
Under the proposed arrangement, the town would install the concrete pad and underground power and communication services. A local fuel supplier would provide and maintain three above-ground tanks and a card-lock system.
McMunn said fluctuating fuel prices made it difficult to determine how long the investment would take to pay for itself. He said its primary benefit would be convenience and reliable access to fuel for public works, utilities, community services, police, fire and potentially Lanark County paramedic vehicles.
“I don’t think it’s reasonable to say that we can’t do an estimate of how much money we’re going to save by spending $200,000,” McGuire said.
“We should be able to have an idea of what those numbers are. And if we don’t, we haven’t done our due diligence and we need to go back and do more planning.”
McGuire also said council had not received figures showing what the town spends on outside mechanical services or whether employing a municipal mechanic would produce savings.
He warned the debt would limit the town’s ability to pay for other priorities, including wastewater treatment and recreation infrastructure.
“We’re spending a lot of money,” McGuire said. “It’s going to put us close to our debt limit, and this is going to affect what we can spend on other projects that may have provided a better benefit to the community.”
Miller said she entered the meeting favouring the option to reduce the administrative wing but changed her position after considering the projected borrowing costs.
“We have circled back to the original proposal with savings on furniture,” she said, summarizing council’s direction.
Bircon Canada submitted the lowest compliant construction bid at $9.216 million before net HST. The town received 12 submissions, one of which was disqualified because it was late.
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I dont think savings on furniture is what the taxpayer in Smiths Falls was looking for in this rebuild.
I am confused , is this to replace the maintenance building that caught on fire ? Was there not insurance on that building ?
I’m with James. Did the town not have insurance on the building?