GRAVENHURST — Despite public outcry over the project’s cost, workers have begun to transform the former health unit building into a new municipal office for the Town of Gravenhurst.
The work began during the week of Feb. 8.
Cindy Maher, chief administrative officer for the town, said the work is going ahead without a contract signed by council.
In December, council unanimously agreed to direct staff to negotiate contracts with architectural firm Evans Bertrand Hill Wheeler and general contractor Monteith Building Group to renovate the building at 5 Pineridge Gate into a new municipal office.
“All figures were laid out for council before, but the contract has not come back to council for signing,” Maher explained. “Basically, we’re continuing on with doing what we said we were going to do.”
She said it is not unusual for work to go ahead without a contract once direction has been given. Negotiating the contract has come down to wording, she said, since the contract prices were determined beforehand.
“We do it all the time,” Maher said. “We never usually have a signed contract in place before the workers start on-site.”
The town purchased the Simcoe-Muskoka District Health Unit building in 2008 for $3.2 million to support a consolidated medical presence in town. Plans were to also move the municipal office to a larger space because town staff is cramped in the existing 9,200-square-foot office on Harvie Street. The new town office will be approximately 17,730 square feet. The remaining 6,700 square feet will be leased by the health unit.
Monteith Building Group is completing the renovation at a cost of $1,751,480.
Combining architectural and engineering fees at $140,118, moving costs at $10,000 and a phone system that may be required at $30,000, the relocation cost amounts to $1,931,598.
With the building’s purchase, the total cost of the move is more than $5.1 million.
Nearly $150,000 was cut from the total cost by reducing nine items using a lower-grade material.
Concerns have been raised by residents and ratepayer organizations about how the town hall project is being managed as the renovations are being completed without public tender. Also of concern is how taking on debt to fulfil this and other commitments will impact taxpayers.
Annual debt payments of $150,000, covering principal and interest, will be required if the funds are borrowed over 20 years. Servicing the debt reportedly amounts to a two per cent increase on the tax bill. The debt for purchasing the health unit building will cost taxpayers a further three per cent increase on their tax bills.
A freedom of information request submitted to the town by this newspaper in January requested copies of correspondence sent to town staff and council related to the financial implications of the project.
Initially, the town did not make available any correspondence to and from staff.
Clerk Candy Thwaites, the town’s freedom of information delegate, said she misinterpreted the request and therefore only supplied letters from citizens and responses thereto.
After the request was clarified, correspondence from the town’s CAO was included in the file.
According to the file, 19 individual letters of concern about the financial implications of the project were sent to members of town council.
Additionally, a form letter from the Muskoka Bay Property Owners’ Association was signed and returned to council by more than a half-dozen individuals. The form letter stated opposition to any additional capital project until the budget and debt load are at an acceptable and manageable point.
Diane Yeates, past president of the MBPOA, said members are unhappy about the project.
“One of the big things I’m hearing from people is anger,” said Yeates on Tuesday. “The ballot is the only way to effect change. How could elected officials in a town of maybe 11,000 (people) incur such a debt? How can they do that to the people that elected them?”
Thwaites said based on advice provided by the Management Board Secretariat for Government Services, she did not provide any responses from members of council’s personal email addresses.
She said if a response was sent by a member of council, it would only become the control of the municipality if the response was carbon copied to the municipality.
However, there were a number of responses to the various correspondences from councillor Lou Guerriero contained in the FOI package received by the Banner.