Council has authorized staff to procure the services of Chamberlain Construction Services Limited as construction managers for the new municipal maintenance facility to be built on Sideroad 16.
At the May 12 meeting council directed staff to proceed with a construction management approach to the construction of the facility, rather than engaging a general contractor.
Public Works director Brad McRoberts explained in a written report that due to time constraints, staff, as directed by council, contacted firms known for construction management experience to submit proposals for construction management services, including a division of the architectural firm Chamberlain Construction Services Limited, which designed the facility.
Proposals were received from three firms, with Chamberlain providing a bid of three per cent of the construction value of the project, based on an estimated $4.9-million construction cost ($149,000) or a fixed fee of $141,000.
McRoberts recommended further discussion with Chamberlain before committing to either the percentage or fixed-fee option.
Melloul-Blamey Construction Inc. submitted a bid of $215,000 based on an eight-month time frame for construction, plus $25,000 for each additional month.
PCL Constructors Canada submitted a proposal to handle the job for 5% of the construction value, or $243,000 based on a $4.9-million construction cost.
McRoberts recommended, based primarily on cost and scheduling concerns, that Chamberlain Construction Services be hired.
“All firms are considered competent and equally qualified. Chamberlain has background, is fully up to speed on the project, and have proposed the lowest fee,” the report states.
“There may be some advantage to having a separate organization involved, in that it can provide a new perspective, however, the time required to bring a new firm up to speed would further delay the project.”
Mayor Neil Driscoll commented the construction management process is also being used by Wellington County for the renovations to the Palmerston library.
“The fees that I’m seeing here in our report are quite low compared to the Palmerston library project,” said Driscoll.
