Tender calls are out to contractors to submit the best bid to modernize and expand the 35-year-old Town Hall for the future.
Helen Dietz, the town's chief administrative officer, told council at its Aug. 22 regular meeting the tendering call for contractors to begin the first phase of the two-year $2.2-million project would go out on Aug. 25, with a pre-bid meeting at the town office at 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 31.
“Anybody interested on bidding on the contract, they can come and visually take a look at the building as well as in the new space at the old fire hall,” she said. “I do think, because of the timing, if anybody is looking for a winter project, it's inside work and it would be a good winter project for anybody that's doing this type of work.”
Dietz said the tender will close on Thursday, Sept. 15 at 2 p.m. The tender will be awarded at the regular council meeting on Sept. 26, with construction beginning immediately after.
Last February, town council approved Red Deer's JMAA Architecture (JMAA) to manage the tendering process and to complete design work at a cost of $121,000. Council was told at the time the tendering process for a building contractor should be completed by June, but that was delayed two months to finalize detailed design planning.
“I think the design process for JMAA when it went from concept designs to formal designs, there was a little bit more complication in connecting heating, electrical from the old building to the new building,” said Dietz last week. “There was a little bit more of a detail and length of time taken to do the formal design.”
Dietz said the town is not expecting any big savings for the million-dollar capital project as was experienced earlier this year, when hundreds of thousands of dollars were banked away as a result of abnormally low bids from a record number of companies competing to get the contracts for million-dollar infrastructure projects.
“I talked to the consultants about that and asked them that question and they are saying they are already seeing a rise in tenders, so the anticipation for the large cost savings that we have been receiving in the beginning of this year, they are not anticipating as large of a saving,” said Dietz. “People are getting busy, they are saying, and projects are getting filled and the prices have gone up a bit.”
The first phase of the project, which will cost an estimated $1.6 million, will not adversely affect staff, as construction will be centred in new space inside the vacant old fire hall. This will include creating a larger 36-seat council chamber, and a new reception area and entrance where the three large fire hall bay doors are currently located. There will also be a new entrance for seniors visiting the drop-in centre, and a new roof. As well, the footprint of the existing building will be extended past the old fire hall driveway all the way to 53 Street, which will be the new main entrance to town hall.
When the first phase is completed in June of next year the next phase will immediately begin, with about $600,000 going towards remodelling and upgrading the existing spaces, including transforming the existing reception space into a large meeting room, while the current north entrance space will be renovated into an office.
Helen Dietz, chief administrative officer for Town of Innisfail
"I do think, because of the timing, if anybody is looking for a winter project it's inside work and it would be a good winter project for anybody that's doing this type of work."
