New City of Peterborough public works yard on former Coach Canada property to be ready by fall of 2018

ThePeterboroughExaminer.com
July 25, 2017
Joelle Kovach

Councillors gave preliminary approval on Monday night to start a $22-million renovation of a city-owned property on Webber Ave. so it can serve as the new public works yard by the fall of 2018.

Construction can begin by this fall to convert the former Coach Canada property into a public works yard.

A new city staff report states the work may take about a year, meaning the yard won't relocate from its overcrowded property on Townsend St. until the fall of 2018.

Sitting as committee of the whole, councillors voted to hire JR Certus Construction Co. Ltd., of Vaughan, to do the work.

The city received six bids for the work; all of them came in well above the city's original budget of $17.1 million.

Certus offered the least expensive bid, so city staff members returned to them and reduced the scope of the work by roughly $2 million.

The Certus bid still came in over-budget, however, so council will hold off on the purchase of some spare transit buses for the fleet until 2019 (a saving of $1.8 million) and also borrow $3 million for the project.

Coun. Keith Riel said he was upset that the costs for this project came in over-budget. He wanted to defer the project, and have city staff offer more details about the expense.

"The costs are way out of control, here," he said.

But the deferral lost: Riel voted for it, as did Coun. Gary Baldwin and Coun. Diane Therrien.

Therrien questioned whether the city had been "vigilant" enough in looking for cost savings.

"Surely there's got to be a way to bring those costs down," she said.

Wayne Jackson, the city's public works director, reminded councillors that they chose the least expensive of the bids - and then reduced the scope of work by $2 million.

Coun. Lesley Parnell said it's critical to relocate the public works yard, if only to free up the property downtown, on Townsend St., for other development in the future.

"It's very important we move ahead with this project," she said.

A city staff report points out that even at $22 million, the project is far less expensive than the alternative. The next best site, a vacant property on Fisher Dr., would have cost at least $45 million to convert into a public works yard.

The former Coach Canada property already has the repair shop and other facilities, since it was once headquarters of a coach bus company.

Coun. Dan McWilliams said it means this renovation of Coach Canada was a bargain.

"We got a heck of a buy," he said. "It will be spectacular."

In other business, at the committee of the whole meeting on Monday night:

New bus barn:

Councillors also approved a plan to hire a Toronto firm to find a new site for a new storage garage for transit buses, and also do an environmental assessment on that site.

IBI Group has said it will do the work for $236,061.

Add incidentals like city labour costs, the cost to hold public meetings and a contingency, and the total cost for the project could reach $366,000.

IBI Group will be expected to evaluate possible locations for a new transit garage, hold public consultations and then report to council (which has the ultimate say on the location). Then the consultant would do an environmental assessment of the chosen site.

Right now, the storage garage for transit buses is at the public works yard on Townsend St. But that yard is overcrowded, and it will move to a new location on Weber Ave. in the fall of 2018.

Coun. Don Vassiliadis, the transportation chairman, said the current bus garage has room for just 40 buses - and there are 54 in the fleet.

There's an urgent need for a new bus barn, he said.

"Let's get to it and stop wasting time," he said.

Support for Via Rail project:

Councillors voted to support a Via Rail plan to start a new passenger train service for the Windsor-Quebec Corridor, including a route from Toronto through Peterborough to Ottawa (and on to Montreal and Quebec City).

Councillors voted to call on the provincial government to include Via Rail's plans in its priority infrastructure projects for Ontario.

Sale of land on Lansdowne St. E:

Council approved a plan to sell 0.3 acres of surplus land at 210 and 220 Lansdowne St. E. to Ron Lay Motors (the Kia dealership) for $235,000. Ron Lay Motors wants to expand. (Coun. Dave Haacke declared a conflict and did not vote - the purchaser is a client of his);

Sale of land on Jameson Dr.:

Council approved a plan to sell 4.35 acres of industrial lands at 280 and 290 Jameson Dr. to be sold to a Bravo Awards Inc., an advertising a marketing company, for $163,200.

A city staff report says Bravo Awards Inc. (BAI) has been seeking a new property to expand its business. It has been operating at 600 The Queensway since 2001, and it has also leased additional property at 730 The Kingsway. (Coun. Dan McWilliams said he's the landlord of the purchaser, and so he declared a pecuniary interest and did not vote).

Immigration portal:

Councillors heard about the newly-refreshed website for New Canadians who are moving to Peterborough.

Videographer Rodney Fuentes, who came here from his native Venezuela 15 years ago, collected the stories of many immigrants in Peterborough and put them together in a one-minute film.

"The community allows me to get more involved - and feel that this is my home," Fuentes said of Peterborough. He called this "a small and special place" where many immigrants come - and stay.

Sustainable Peterborough:

Sheridan Graham, the chairwoman of Sustainable Peterborough, presented the organization's annual report card on environmentally-friendly projects. Highlights include the fact that there are now 18 electrical vehicle charging stations in the Peterborough area.

Eavestrough drainage:

Councillors received a new report that says the city cannot impose regulations on citizens regarding the drainage of rainwater onto the neighbour's property;

Age-Friendly Peterborough Advisory Committee:

Councillors endorsed the creation of a new Age-Friendly Peterborough Advisory Committee.

The committee will be made up of Danielle Belair, Dawn Berry-Merriam, Alan Cavell, Kerri Davies, Ann MacLeod and Mark Skinner.