Council approves Allman tender

Tori Sutton
STAFF REPORTER

City council has hired PM Contracting Ltd. to handle the most recent phase of renovations at William Allman Memorial Arena.

At Monday night’s meeting, council voted to accept the company’s bid of $2.3888,748.95, including GST. Of eight bids received for the project, PM Contracting Ltd. came in with the lowest price.

Coun. George Brown said he was concerned with the amount of money being spent on the project, with the government only pitching in $1.4 million toward the costs. He suggested only a portion of the work be completed now, with the rest being considered in the future. Because some of the costs have been covered through long-term financing, he noted the city would be paying $40,000 to $50,000 in interest.

“Right now is the time to hold our horses and not spend a $1 million,” he said.

Mayor Dan Mathieson said council previously approved a budget of $1.95 million, net of GST. He said the project’s costs rose about $280,000 over and above the budgetted cost, mostly because asbestos was found in the building and it must be removed. He said $1.9 million must be spent at this time as that is the figure used when funding was calculated by the province.

Coun. Tom Clifford said he supported moving forward with the renovations and said the cost won’t decline in future years. Coun. Keith Culliton called the upgrades a worthwhile project and said the arena was one of the nicest in the province.

Coun. Dave Hunt said it was time to deal with the project.

“Every time we put if off, it costs more in the future,” he said. “We best bite the bullet and get it done.”