A plan to halt water infiltration which has lead to major mould problems in the basement of the municipal office here is about to be put into action.
Mapleton Council directed staff to prepare tender documents and proceed with pricing of the project, after reviewing a report from R. J. Burnside and Associates at the Aug. 13 meeting.
The engineers presented council with five options for dealing with the infiltration, with costs ranging from about $14,000 to just over $1 million.
The most expensive solution was to fill in the basement and construct an addition of approximately the same size, coming in at $1,010,000. That option was suggested by councillor Andy Knetsch, who inquired about the potential cost at the July 23 meeting after learning it was going to cost at least $200,000 to solve the problem through improved drainage of the existing structure.
“I’m not sure that filling it with stone, councillor Knetsch – a million dollar building…” quipped Mayor Bruce Whale at the Aug. 13 meeting..
“Hold off on that thought,” responded Knetsch.
The other options presented differed in cost from $13,900 to $27,750, but all included common costs of an additional $191,000 for work including digging a trench around the building and installing a new system of larger tiling.
The report identified three locations where the foundation system could be drained by gravity. The lowest cost option involved directing foundation drainage to a pumping system from which water could be pumped to the north side of the site. Although this was the option recommended by the engineers, all members of council preferred a gravity drainage system, rather than electing to rely on pumps.
Council agreed to proceed with an option involving gravity discharge to the north/east corner of the property, crossing Sideroad 16 and neighboring farmland.
The engineers noted arrangements would have to be made with the property owner in order to proceed with this option.
However Whale said the owner had indicated a willingness to work with the township in previous discussions. Whale also noted the possibility of hooking into existing drainage in the field might reduce costs of the project.
“From your discussion with the property owner, it sounds like they are a willing partner,” said Councillor Mike Downey, who advocated the selection of the north/northeast gravity drainage option.
Councillors Downey, Knetsch and Neil Driscoll all voted in favour of proceeding with the option. Councillor Jim Curry was absent.
Combined with the $191,000 worth of work common to the four drainage options, council’s decision makes the estimated cost of the project about $219,000. That figure is in addition to just under $40,000 worth of mould remediation work on the basement and contents, previously approved by council and already underway.
While the projected cost of the project continues to rise, Whale noted council was looking for a permanent solution to the water infiltration and mould problems, not necessarily the cheapest fix.
“We’re doing this repair for the worst possible scenario, we’re not looking at the best case scenario,” he said. “We’re going to solve this one yet. I guess we’re just trying to make sure a council down the road doesn’t have to resolve it.”
