City staff are again looking at reassessing the current repairs at the Ruben Yli-Juuti Centre pool after a current call for tender for work still needing to be done was over budget.
That’s the assessment of acting director of public works Bill Goulding in a report to council Monday evening.
Goulding did make council aware that the wood ceiling at the pool has been refinished and the city posted a picture of the work on its website.
“The refinishing work is now complete and the facility stands ready for the remainder of the project,” he reported.
Staff made efforts to reduce the remaining scope of work as much as practical in order to reduce the project timeline moving forward, as well as to reduce the project cost. Some relatively minor improvements relating to accessibility and pool-deck storage were included in the scope of work, but overall, the project as designed could be described as a restoration of the affected areas of the existing facility, according to him.
“The project was put out to tender on May 25, 2023 and closed to bids on June 7, 2023. One bidder responded to the tender, offering a both a price that was higher and a timeline that was longer than anticipated,” Goulding reported.
“Given the situation, staff would like to assess options moving forward in advance of providing a more comprehensive report to council. Staff is currently working with the design team to investigate alternative approaches that could potentially move the project along and is working with treasury and funders to clarify the financial implications of the situation.”
That assessment was approved by council.
However, Goulding said some of the assessment work might see reducing the amount of work originally considered for the pool.
He said the city is dealing with a limited number of providers for the work needed to complete the repairs. He suggested the design team look at different options for the work.
“If we put it out to tender again we would have to revisualize the project again,” Goulding said.
Councillor Charlie Flintoff raised concern about “alternative approaches” being suggested by Goulding.
“It seems we are back to square one again,” Flintoff said of changing features for the overall repair. “It’s probably frustrating for the people out there.”
Goulding disagreed that the concerns do not involve a restart.
Councillor Norm Mann summed up concerns raised by some council members.
“Clearly when we began this project, we knew it was going to be a very extensive rebuild. We as a council have committed to rebuilding this pool,” he said because he was personally not wanting to see any reduction in what the plan called for. “I’m committed tonight that this pool will reopen, but clearly there are going to be some budgetary implications.”
The councillor said he would support staff taking another look at the extent of work needed to finish the rebuild and provide council with a concrete estimate of the work required.
The original estimate to repair the pool was set at $1.9 million and originally scheduled to take about 38 weeks to complete. The pool has been closed since late last year and current predictions are that it could open by the fall of this year.
Regular reports to council have not given any public information about ongoing costs of the work or a clearer date for reopening of the pool.
ElliotLakeToday has previously reported that, “Back on July 10, 2021, NOHFC (a provincial grant) approved a $500,000 grant for the repair and replacement of mechanical and HVAC systems at the pool. "
On May 9 of this year (2022), the council awarded a $1,050,881 contract to the Ainsworth company to install a new dehumidifier, boiler, HRV equipment for the viewing area and boiler room, exhaust fans, heat and air conditioning for the fitness room, HRV for change rooms, and the replacement of ductwork.
Funding of $550,881 for the project was to be supplied from reserves, and $500,000 in funding from NOHFC.
Details of exact costs so far have not been publicly released.