Capital Projects Raise Questions

By Kirk Winter

Three capital projects caught the interest of the Mayor, and individual Councillors, at the regular December 11 meeting of CKL Council.

       In most cases, questions surrounded why these projects were being tendered now, rather than in 2019.  On the surface, the projects did not look like priority items, but after detailed answers from City staff the following was discovered:

Commercial Access Road Lindsay Airport

Staff explained that the project was so small that it was feared that if the project was not tendered till next spring local contractors would already have full dance cards, and no one would bid on the job. The hope is that putting it to tender now will ensure at least one bidder, and that will all but guarantee the project reaches fruition in the early summer.

Ambulance Purchase

The manufacturing of ambulances in Canada is a time-consuming business, where the vehicles are crafted to the customer’s specifications, and there are very few manufacturers to begin with. Therefore, an ambulance ordered in 2018 will actually get manufactured for 2019 delivery. If the City waited to order the ambulance in 2019, as some Councillors wondered about, the vehicle would likely not be delivered until 2020.  With the ambulance needed for 2019, the order had to go in during this calendar year to ensure delivery in a timely manner.

Lindsay Recreation Complex Roof Repairs

Councillors appeared to be surprised by this item being prioritized. Many were aware that the building had been partially re-roofed in 2012, but were taken aback to discover that because of poor workmanship, the six-year- old roof had already failed. That section of roof, along with a section not done in 2012, needed to be done, and done soon. Councillors were disappointed to discover that the 2012 section of roof had no existing warranty, and there appeared to be no legal recourse for the City to go after the 2012 contractor. City staff promised that quality control and selection of a contractor would be more successful in 2018-2019 than it had been in 2012.