Saugeen Shores Council gave its approval on March 22nd for work on Phase One of the Lamont Sports Park to begin. Work is expected to start by the end of this month (March) on the the new outdoor sports complex to be located at the south end of Port Elgin.
The contract was awarded to Anthony Furlano Construction and Phase One will include four ball diamonds at a cost of $5,319,233, as well as provide infrastructure for future phases. While coming in above the original budget, the contract was awarded to the lowest of five bids which ranged from $5.3 to $9 million.
Director of Community Services, Jayne Jagelewski, all those contractors who bid on the project had been pre-qualified and all were capable of completing the project. However, she added that Furlano was, in fact, not only the lowest bid but also the only one who made several visits to the site and, therefore, was very familiar with the location.
She reminded Council that even though the work is anticipated to be completed by December of this year, “… the diamonds will not be usable until the Spring of 2023 as they have to sit until sufficiency propagation has occurred. While the tender is approximately $344,000 over budget, the work will also provide the infrastructure for future development within the (site) footprint.”
Jagelewski suggested that Council may want to consider ‘naming’ right opportunities for businesses and organizations for the four diamonds to provide additional revenue to offset the additional construction costs. She also said the report recommends that the financial impact be through debt financing.
Councilor Kristan Shrider said that the report was great news and an exciting time for everyone involved. She questioned however the discrepancies between the lowest and highest bids of some $4 million.
Jagelewski said that through the prime consultant has worked with each of the contractors and reminded that each had been pre-qualified. “The contractor Furlano however was the only one to visit the site several times and many of the costs are in-line including electrical and earth-works as the Town has earth-works on site to being with. It is no surprise the concrete and metal costs are high but that is across the entire region. It is not surprising that there is a large price span when give the size of the project.”
Vice-Deputy Mayor, Mike Myatt, said he commended Jagelewski with the idea of ‘naming rights’ in the memory of a love one, by alumni ball players, businesses and organizations at $50,000 was an excellent idea and should be first-come, first-served.
He asked if the infrastructure would include underground for irrigation, hydro and water to be expanded to future phases. Jagelewski affirmed that it makes sense to do the work now while the costs have been determined.
Council also approved an additional $55,000 for sand-point well irrigation and port-o-let enclosures, ensuring continuous irrigation even during droughts or watering restrictions.
Myatt also asked the Treasurer Daniel Waechter about the borrowing costs. Waechter said that with low interest rates today, long-term financing is being considered and debt financing would be for approximately 20 years and that the Legacy Fund or its contributions may be directed toward payments on the debt financing. He said that the project was in-line for long-term debt financing.
Mayor Luke Charbonneau pointed out however, that the town has the room in the Operating Budget capacity to carry the loan without raising taxes or affecting the tax levy.
Councilor Cheryl Grace reminded Council that it was only 18 months ago that the community was so united in participating in the Kraft Heinz competition and the town’s success with that. She also asked what security provisions would be in place during 2022 when the diamonds would not be usable.
Jagelewski explained that all diamonds would have permanent fencing with lock mechanisms so that only authorized personnel would have access. “Unfortunately, in other locations, we saw that where those diamonds had no fencing damage was experienced.”
“It’s exciting to see this project moving along,” says Mayor Luke Charbonneau. “The growth of our community has allowed us to build these new baseball diamonds as part of our ongoing effort to improve quality of life for everyone in Saugeen Shores.”
As the project progresses, regular updates will be made on the Town of Saugeen Shores website and social media channels. Follow @SaugeenShoresON on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
