Community News

CLEARVIEW FACES 'HARD DECISIONS' ON HALL RENOVATIONS

COUNCILLORS APPROVE RENOVATIONS FOR SUNNIDALE CORNERS COMMUNITY CENTRE

IAN ADAMS iadams@simcoe.com

Clearview Township councillors have approved the first contract to renovate one of the municipality's community halls, but there now may be a question mark whether the remaining halls will have work done in the coming years.

At their March 13 meeting, councillors awarded the bid to renovate the Sunnidale Corners Community Centre to Domm Construction for $890,000. The work includes fire safety upgrades to the hall's kitchen, along with renovations to bring the building in line with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, such as lifts, wider doors and accessible washrooms.

Substantial completion of the renovations is expected by the end of August.

While the lowest bid, it's also about $130,000 more than the budget that had already been updated to account for inflation, the township's director of parks, culture and recreation, Terry Vachon, told council.

Council also approved an additional amount of $54,000 for R.J. Burnside and Associates Ltd. and Allan Avis Architects to oversee the structural components of the build.

A tender opening has also now taken place for the upgrades to the Avening Community Hall, with a recommendation to come to council on March 23.

The bill for all six halls — Avening, Sunnidale, Brentwood, Duntroon, Dunedin and Nottawa — had originally been estimated at $5.1 million.

In an interview with Simcoe.com, Vachon acknowledged the revised estimates in early 2022 had put the potential tab at $6.4 million — and it could be even more thanks to double-digit increases in the construction price index over the last couple of years.

The revised estimate for Sunnidale Corners in early 2022 was $674,000, which was further revised earlier this year to $764,000.

The higher-than-expected costs may now be giving some councillors pause on whether to move ahead with the other four halls.

"At what point do we say yay or nay?" questioned Ward 5 Coun. Marty Beelen. "This seems quite a bit over budget for me to say, 'Yes, go ahead and do this.'"

Beelen ultimately voted in favour of awarding the contract.

Ward 4 Coun. Robert Walker said he would be asking for a report on the use and financial situation of the halls at the next council meeting, "to help me to determine ... if moving forward is viable at all our halls."

Deputy Mayor Paul Van Staveren cautioned the township may have little choice to go ahead with Sunnidale and Avening, as the previous council had already approved going to bid for the first two halls, and the need for the facilities to be AODA-compliant by 2025.

But, he acknowledged, "I don't like it, but we have to (go ahead) with the first two, and then revisit the process."

"Every hall is important to each community, and if we don't (go ahead), we'll have to shut these halls down," he said. "Where will we be left?

"We have no choice but to make everything compliant, and it comes at such a cost. We may have to make some hard decisions."

The township's reserve account has $1.5 million, with another $250,000 that would go into the account as part of the 2023 budget. Vachon told Simcoe.com the account would not likely cover the entire costs for Sunnidale and Avening, with the balance of renovations to be funded through a debenture.

The next two halls on the list are Brentwood and Duntroon, which will be presented to council for consideration later this spring.

We miss you in so many ways We miss things you used to say

And when old times we do recall

It's then we miss you most of all.

Miss you, love always, Dad, Mom, Christa, Doug, and Savannah.

COUNCIL

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2023-03-23T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-23T07:00:00.0000000Z

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