Ontario Construction News staff writer
The Towns of Collingwood and New Tecumseth have reached an agreement with Kenaidan Contracting Ltd. to extend the contractor’s bid to expand the town’s Raymond A. Barker Water Treatment Plant until April 14.
The extension agreement was needed to ensure bid prices were maintained, allowing the two municipalities to find funding needed for the project, estimated to be in the range of $270 million.
The unofficial low bid was $212 million for construction, however, the total project costs are now estimated to be in the range of $270 million, and the timeline to complete the project has also been extended by about two years. The timeline will be further affected by the bid validity extensions.
“We are committed to ensuring our community has the services and water it needs today and into the future. New Tecumseth and Collingwood have been and will continue to work collaboratively in seeking solutions and continuing the discussions with the province as we need financial support to complete the necessary plant expansion,” said New Tecumseth Mayor, Richard Norcross.
Without the plant expansion,” we will have limited ability to build new homes or meet provincial housing targets,” the mayors of both towns said in a statement.
New Tecumseth and Collingwood are committed to continuing to work collaboratively to ensure the water needs of our respective growing communities is successfully met.
Collingwood has held regular working group meetings with New Tecumseth, local developers, and other potential municipal partners through a task force created in the fall of 2023, to explore possible funding options and programs.
According to a statement, the towns “have been working diligently with Kenaidan and remain committed to the project.
“Kenaidan has agreed to extend the bid validity for an additional 90 days until April 15th, 2024, with the hopes that we will be in a financial position to continue with the project as tendered.”
Adjustments will be needed to project milestones and any associated costs will be confirmed when the contract is signed.
“Continuing with this project remains the best solution to increase our water supply for years to come, with the potential to sell capacity to other municipal partners,” officials said.
Mayors met with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Development during the recent Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) conference to once again seek provincial funding.
“With the support of council, I have been working tirelessly meeting with various cabinet ministers to make clear the need for our provincial partner to step up and assist with the cost of this plant expansion that will ensure the supply of much-needed housing as well as business growth in Collingwood, across South Georgian Bay and beyond,” said Collingwood Mayor,Yvonne Hamlin.
“I am further grateful for the continued support of New Tecumseth, our municipal partners, the development community and Kenaidan, as we continue to explore all opportunities to ensure the viability of this project prior to the April 15th deadline.”Three bids were received from the pre-qualified contractors for the Raymond A. Barker Water Treatment Plant Expansion project in time for the Sept. 12, 2023 deadline, Collingwood Mayor, Yvonne Hamlin and Richard Norcross, Mayor, New Tecumseth said in a joint statement.
For more information about the project, please visit https://engage.collingwood.ca/water-treatment-plant-expansion