Project Background Information
The Municipality had been planning for renovation of the existing office or construction of a new office for many years and Council made a decision in December of 2020 to proceed with the new build option. The Municipality of West Perth consulted the public through open houses and surveys, secured a grant to cover a portion of the cost, and in July 2021, the Municipality closed the tender for construction. Council accepted the low bid for the project and a contract with Domm Construction Ltd. was signed. View the Municipal Office Tender Award - Report to Council dated July 19, 2021 for full information on the tender results. Domm Construction Ltd. also built the West Perth Fire Station and the Municipality is pleased to be working with them on this project.
| What is the history of the old West Perth Administration Office? |
| 169 St. David Street building was constructed in 1924 and served as the Mitchell High School until 1957. The Town of Mitchell renovated the building and started to use it as Administration Offices in 1960. Renovations were made in 1998 in preparation for the building to be used as the West Perth Administration Office. The building has also housed police offices and West Perth Power offices in the past. |
| Is the old building a designated heritage building? |
|
The current building was purpose-built for a high school in 1924. The building is not designated as a historical building. The original building included an architectural feature known as a parapet. The parapet is a short wall at the roof-line and it was covered with brick. In 2002 the parapet wall was identified as needing significant repairs and after reviewing options, a decision was made to cover the parapet with steel.
|
| Has the building been updated over the years? |
|
The building was renovated after the high school moved out in 1957 after it was condemned for further school use, and before the Town of Mitchell began using it as administration offices in 1959 or 1960. A major renovation was completed in 1983. This renovation included updating the boilers and the addition of an elevator. The boilers have not been updated since this renovation almost 40 years ago.
A further renovation was completed in 1998 to prepare the building to be the Administration Offices for the newly amalgamated West Perth.
|
| What is known about the condition of the current building? |
| A building condition assessment report was completed on the administration office and fire hall in 2012. The report for the administration office identified significant condition issues with building systems, air handling and accessibility. For example, the boilers and HVAC systems are the equipment installed in the 1983 renovation (39 years old).
A process to re-visit the 2012 Administration Office and Fire Hall Condition Assessment review was initiated in 2017. Building condition assessment reports were completed in 2018 covering electrical, mechanical and structural elements of the building.
The condition assessment reports identify several major building systems as being well past their design life.
|
| Why is accessibility a concern? What is the risk? |
|
The building is non-compliant with basic accessibility standards as required by legislation. Under Provincial legislation, all public buildings are to be compliant with current accessibility standards by 2025.
Municipalities are expected to be leaders in promoting progressive policy in areas such as accessibility. The Province has not indicated what the consequences of non-compliance with accessibility standards by the 2025 deadline would be. Potential consequences for non-compliance could include limiting or withholding grant eligibility until compliance is achieved.
|
| Has an accessibility assessment of the current building been completed and is there a cost estimate to make the building accessible? |
| Wilson Dias Architects completed an Accessibility Assessment and delivered their report in 2018. The report identifies limitations with the current building, actions needed to make the building accessible and cost estimates. To bring the building to current accessibility standards would require significant work both inside and outside the building including reconfiguring the internal layout, relocating the elevator and reconstruction of the external ramps. The estimated cost for internal updates and renovations to bring the building up to current accessibility standards is $930,000. An additional $230,000 of external updates would be required. |
| Has any assessment been completed to determine the amount and configuration of space needed for the West Perth administration offices? |
|
The 2012 Building Condition Assessment process culminated in a recommendation that West Perth build a new 14,005sq ft Municipal Office.
Wilson Dias Architects completed an analysis of the functional space needs for the Municipal Office as part of their work 2018 project. Wilson Dias estimated the space required for the Municipal Office as being 11,000 to 12,000 ft2. This assessment made assumptions that need to be revisited particularly related to the size of Council Chambers, space needed for secure file storage and general storage, flexibility for modest growth and the option for community programming space to be included in the project.
When considering the design and space requirements of the Municipal Office today, it is important to consider the short, medium term and long-term needs of the Municipality and design features to incorporate lessons learned from operating administration offices during a global pandemic.
|
| What is known about the cost to renovate the current building or construct a new building? |
|
The 2018 Wilson Diaz Architects project looked at various options for the West Perth fire hall and municipal office. A detailed cost estimate was prepared for an option involving renovation of the current administration office and constructing a new stand-alone fire hall. The cost estimate for this option was set at $6,785,163 with the administration office renovation portion being $4,360,000 for 12,000 ft2.
In December of 2020, an estimate for a new build option was calculated using information from the completed fire hall project and industry building estimates as supplied by Dawley Engineering. The estimated “all in” project price for a 14,000 ft2 Municipal Office was $3,430,000.
|
| Has the information about the condition of the administration building been presented to Council and public in the past? |
| The results of the 2012 Building Condition Assessments were presented to the public on January 29, 2013. That presentation included a recommendation that the Municipality proceed to design a new 14,005 ft2 Municipal Office.
The 2018 Wilson Diaz Architects reports were presented to Council on April 16, 2018. Council directed that a public consultation take place. A public meeting was held on June 19, 2018.
This process led to the decision by Council to move forward with the fire hall replacement project as a first priority. The decision included acknowledgement that a decision on the administration office would need to be made in the near future.
|
| What has been done since 2018? |
|
Detailed design work for a new West Perth Fire Hall was completed and a public tender for the construction of a stand-alone fire hall was issued in early 2020. On March 2, 2020, the building construction and site works components of the project were awarded to the lowest bidder with a total bid of $2,380,652 (Council Resolution #68/20). The total project budget included an additional $206,000 of work that was not in the construction tender. This additional budget covers items including a diesel generator, furniture and equipment, security system, window coverings and a bunker gear washer. It is noted that the final design included four drive thru, double deep bays rather than the three drive thru, double deep bay concept prepared by Wilson Dias. The fire hall as tendered also includes a dedicated training room that doubles as an emergency operations center and a fire museum space. The fire hall project was completed in 2021 on budget.
|
| Why is a project being pursued now? |
|
The decision to prioritize the fire hall project was made by Council knowing that a decision on the municipal office would need to be made in the coming years. An opportunity for some supporting grant funds arose. Due to the timelines required for the grant, a special Council meeting was called for December 3, 2020 and a detailed report with background information and options for moving forward was presented.
At the December 3, 2020 Council meeting, a decision was made to select the new build option rather than the renovation option. A resolution was passed directing staff to apply for the grant.
|
| What decisions has Council made? |
Council made the following decisions at the December 3, 2020 meeting:
- Proceed with the new build option rather than a renovation option. (Resolution #284/20)
- Submit the proposed new administration office project as the West Perth project for the COVID Resiliency Grant opportunity and direct that staff submit the application prior to the December 21, 2021 application deadline. (Resolution #286/20)
- Authorize single source procurement of design services for the project. (Resolution #285/20)
- The Council members on the committee to advance the project were confirmed. These members are Mayor McKenzie, Deputy Mayor Eidt, Councillor Trentowsky and Councillor Herold. (Resolution #287/20)
At the February 1, 2021 meeting, Council received an update from the Building Working Group and resolved to accept the proposal from Dawley Engineering for conceptual design, tender-ready drawings, site plan, tender management and site supervision services related to the West Perth Municipal Administration Office. (Resolution #18/21)
December 3, 2020 Council Agenda
December 3, 2020 Minutes
|
| What are the next decisions that Council will need to make? |
The Building Working Group has held meetings with Dawley Engineering and Architect John Rutledge to consider functional design needs for a proposed new Municipal Office. Council approval will be required for the following milestones:
- Conceptual design and preliminary cost estimate and authorization to proceed to detailed design
- Approval to go to tender for construction
Approval of the tendered price and authorization for entering into the construction contract with successful bidder |
| Will there be an opportunity for public input on the conceptual designs? |
|
Open House sessions were March 30 and March 31, 2021 to provide information to the public and obtain input on the conceptual design of the proposed building.
|
| Is the grant guaranteed? What happens if the Municipality is successful in obtaining the grant but is not able to use the grant? |
|
The ICIP COVID Resiliency Grant is subject to an application process. The eligible amount of $160,124 was determined based on an allocation formula and applications that meet the eligibility criteria and can meet the mandatory timelines should expect to be approved. Staff reviewed the grant criteria and consulted Ministry staff on the potential West Perth project and were assured that the proposed Municipal Office option was grant eligible.
If the Municipality is successful in securing the grant, the project would need to meet mandatory timelines to receive the grant. If the Municipality fails to meet the timelines or chooses to not proceed with the project, the grant approval would be lost. There would not be sanctions for failing to meet timelines or proceed with project other than the loss of the grant funding.
|
| If the Municipality proceeds to tender, how would the tender process work? |
|
The Municipality uses the Bids and Tenders Portal for promotion of available tenders, collection of questions and issuance of addendums. The Bids and Tenders process is commonly used and allows for a transparent and readily accessible tendering process for prospective bidders. The West Perth process requires the final tender packages to be submitted as a physical package rather than on-line.
It is anticipated that the tender would be structured to require the submission of a fixed price contract for the construction of the proposed Municipal Administration Office. The process is conducted in accordance with the Municipality’s procurement by-law and will lead to the selection of the lowest bid subject to review for completeness and confirming references.
|
| How did the construction tender process for the firehall project work? |
|
West Perth used the Bids and Tenders process to procure construction services for the West Perth Fire Hall. The tender for a new Fire Hall was posted on Bids and Tenders on January 30, 2020 and closed on February 21, 2020. An optional site meeting was held on February 6, 2020. Addendums and questions were handled through Bids and Tenders.
Twelve tenders were received, and the three low tenders were reviewed in detail to confirm compliance with tender requirements. The three low tenders all met the tender requirements and had a spread of $125,097.05 or 8%. The project was awarded to the lowest bidder, Domm Construction.
|
|
