FORT FRANCES — Fort Frances council has voted to move ahead with an expansion of its senior centre, using reserve funds to bridge a financial gap for the project.
On Monday, council voted to award the contract for the work, resolving an issue that had been held over from the previous term.
The town had received provincial funding through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund for the project in February, which covered about $465,000. The proposed work included a new pool room, card room, meeting rooms, and renovations to convert an existing space into an exercise room. A second part of the project would include replacing the rooftop HVAC unit, and including safe access ladders and maintenance platforms for the unit.
A tender for the project was issued earlier this year and closed near the end of August, but council was unable to vote on awarding it due to being in a lame duck status period near the end of the term.
Bids on the tender ranged from between $325,000 to $350,000 over what the town had budgeted.
During Monday's meeting, town operations and facilities manager Travis Rob said while the municipality had filed notice with the province to defer the work to 2023, it couldn't be put on hold indefinitely.
Rob said one option would be to cancel the tender, change the scope of the project, and then issue an updated tender. That option would require further design work, after the town had already spent $30,000 on that phase, and could affect the provincial funding.
Other options included deferring and seeking additional funding, or going forward either through the reserve funds or using a debenture.
Town administration indicated they would continue to apply for additional funding sources as they become available.
