On Monday, September 25, the majority of Huntsville councillors voted in favour of going to tender for the installation of the washroom facillity at River Mill Park next spring.
Council managed to narrow their choices down to two locations but one will require test samples to ensure it isn’t contaminated. Staff were instructed to hire a company to conduct the work, although the cost was not discussed.
When asked what it would take to get the facility installed before winter, staff told council that they would have to get a formal quote from the three companies staff had requested an informal quote from for the installation of the washroom facility—HLD, Fowlers, and Hall Construction.
Councillor Scott Morrison said he preferred having to pay for storing the unit over the winter in order to open the tender up to everyone who wants to bid. Council concurred.
In the end, the resolution directed staff to issue a tender for the possibility of installing the unit in one of two locations, pending soil sample results, for a cost not to exceed $270,000 and a total overall cost of $330,000.
Councillors Cory Clark and Scott Morrison did not vote in favour, noting the cost is too steep and they could not rationalize spending that kind of money on toilets. Clark reiterated a previous suggestion that the toilets be sold, the funds recuperated and he added that the Town could work on a new solution with the donor of the facility. Councillor Morrison, who said he was glad the project was being put out to tender, said he could still not support the price included in the resolution.
In the resolution, Council gave staff approval to go out to tender for a cost of up to $270,000 to install the facility in one of two locations, for a total of $330,000 which includes $60,000. In a previous report, staff indicated that the $60,000 was set aside in the 2023 budget for site preparation to receive the washroom facility “$39,948 has been spent to date (67% of the initial funding). This funding has been used for tree assessment/removal ($3,400), evaluation of engineering requirements, and design of the site preparation ($36,548).”
While it is hoped the tenders will come in lower, $235,000 of the project would be set aside from the cash in lieu of parkland reserve and $95,000 would come from development charges.
The cost of storing the unit over the winter will come from the park’s operating budget as follows: $450 per month and $1,967 for one-time transportation to move the unit.
Staff is expected to return to council with tender results and the preferred site selection for the washroom unit to be installed.
Pending soil sample results on site 8, a tender will be issued for the cost of installing the prebuilt washroom unit on either site 1 or 8 marked in blue on the map above.
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I still say how could we order something so large without first checking to find out what the installation costs would be. Would we do that in our own homes.
I guess this is the administrations way of saying OOPS! I guess Hugh Mackenzie was right when he labeled our town council “Spendthrifts” and made a mockery of the Budgetary System.
$25,000.00 from the Art Acquisition Fund for a Request for Proposals for art installation at Kent Park
5,000.00 for water access improvement at Camp Kitchen.
$20,000.00 from working capital reserves for communication towers.
$40,000.00 from the stabilization fund for a meeting room.
$10,000.00 from parks reserves for Fairy Lake Tyland Park.
$53,000.00 from working capital reserves for Meadow Park.
$12,000.00 from working capital reserves for Anthony Court.
$25,000.00 from reserves for a climate consultant.
$480,000.00 from fleet capital reserves for equipment repairs.
$100,000.00 from human capital reserves for a new strategic planning position.
$75,000.00 from the human capital reserve for a new position in the Clerk’s Department.
$75,000.00 for a new Committee Coordinator.
$56,000.00 to create parking at the Annex. (Next to the library.)
$34,000.00 from the working reserves for staff furniture
$21,300.00 for new defibrillators from recreation reserves.
$26,000.00 from the IT reserves for council chamber audio upgrades and
$25,000.00 for a consultant for a Building Management Plan from council chamber reserves.
I’m sure some of these expenditures were necessary however, the question still remains, why were these expenditures not included in the 2023 budget and why weren’t the public informed.
Brian C. Samuell: Indeed, Huntsville Planing Mills had water and sewer and electricity. But that was back in the day when such things were possible. We still had a bit of hold-over from the period of ‘Middle Earth’. Our local fairies still worked, hence fairy lights. And resident trolls. The trainees dealt with the unsavory part of the facilities. Trainees always get the s*#t jobs, but in that case it cultured their disposition and built troll character. As far as water goes, the building had a pipe!! that brought it in and as well, the river was right there if the water bill got forgotten or there was fire or drought.
The old folks knew that as soon as the trees were removed from the property, there would be a lot of things change. No longer anywhere for the fairies to roost up during the day and the trolls were —-out of luck when it came to dealing with their own ‘movements’. Or anyone else for that matter.
So now in the days of our local contractors and the letting of tenders, all that is gone. It is you and I as taxpayers, that get to shoulder the expense of these new ogres and dragons.
Just funnin’. But two thirds of a mil for a two-holer!!!! Not funny.
Before we got the parking lot surrounded with a park there was a big home improvement store on the land. It had washrooms. How did they manage that?