The contract for the design and management of the construction phase of the new municipal works administration and garage multi-purpose buildings project will cost taxpayers $1,565,000, or 12.5 per cent of the total estimated cost of the project.

Cornwall roads supervisor Paul Rochon presented the municipal works department’s request during the city budget meeting held Monday.

“The funds included in the 2020 budget will be combined with the funds set aside in the 2019 budget to commission a multidisciplinary consulting engineering firm to provide detailed design and construction administration services for the new municipal works administration and garage-multi-purpose buildings,” he told council. “The design phase of the project is scheduled for completion in 2020, with construction commencing in 2021. The construction contract for the new buildings will include provisions for the demolition of existing structures within the yard as well.”

The total budget for the works yard’s overhaul, first set several years ago, is in the $32-million range, including a $5-million contingency that’s already been spent.

According to Rochon, a consultant, commissioned in 2016 through the Asset Management Plan, deemed the current municipal works buildings to have a combined value of $1,000,000 in deficiencies that would need to be addressed within five years in order to maintain safety and operational standards.

“The building will consist of a 3,000-square-metre structure with a layout that focuses on effective space planning, leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) principles and the minimization of building and maintenance costs through the consolidation of amenities such as offices and lunchrooms,” he said.

Coun. Justin Towndale asked Rochon if the salt shed’s construction, estimated at $4 million, would still be relevant if the city began using beet juice on its streets during snowstorms.

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