Arena project is topic of tonight's special committee meeting

A special committee meeting of North Bay City Council has been called for Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. to further discuss the contentious twin-pad arena and community centre proposal.

In a BayToday poll on the future of the project, more than two-thirds of respondents favoured doing away with the project entirely. That poll opened on Aug. 2 and asked, "If you were a councillor, which arena option would you choose?"

The poll elicited 1,468 responses:

1. Building Redesign. Cancel the tender and initiate a redesign process of the building making use of the existing functional program and site. — 92 votes 6.27%

2. Project Redesign. Cancel the tender and initiate a redesign process of the building and building function. This would make use of the existing site. — 176 votes 11.99%

3. Award the Contract. This option involves awarding the tender and initiating construction. — 196 votes 13.35%

4. Scrap the project entirely. — 1004 votes 68.39%

An amendment tabled by Councillors Lana Mitchell and Justine Mallah during last Tuesday's regular meeting saw a potential decision on the ongoing saga pushed back.

Mallah told BayToday the reasoning behind calling a special meeting was for council members to discuss the three options presented in a report from CAO John Severino in more detail at the committee level and with staff present to address questions or provide clarifications.

If approved, the project is slated for construction at the Steve Omischl Sports Complex on Lakeshore Drive. Following discussions Tuesday at the committee level, the matter will return to a future regular council meeting for a vote.

Mallah, who also serves as chair of council's community services committee says she doesn't foresee completely going back to the drawing board. "My fellow Council members have made it clear that an arena project is a priority for this term, so I don't anticipate we will scrap the project entirely," she tells BayToday on Tuesday, hours before the meeting.

"Tonight is an opportunity to learn about and debate the options related to the community centre project. I'm hopeful that Council will come to an agreement on the next steps," Mallah adds.

Asked if the proposal has a chance to move forward, she replies, "At this point, I'm really unsure if the project will be saved. There really is no perfect move forward, in my opinion. While I agree that the price tag is astronomical, many other cities are paying similar or higher amounts for comparable projects. If we decide to change the project or start from scratch, will we save any money? It's hard to know."

In his report, Severino provides background information on the project, the low tender, current general market conditions, and community impacts of an unplanned closure of West Ferris Arena. It also summarizes three potential options for council’s consideration:

Option 1, Building Redesign

According to the report, "This option involves cancelling the tender and initiating a redesign process of the building. The building redesign would make use of the existing functional program and site but would be constrained by the existing species at risk avoidance permit. This option would allow the project delivery
method to be changed if benefits are anticipated."

Risks:

Price escalation due to inflation at current rates (12.3 per cent annualized) could result in adding $8.5 million to the build cost over the next year.
Moves project completion out to 2027.
Delays in project delivery increase the risk of unplanned closure of West Ferris Arena.
Price reductions available through redesign without program cuts are minimal.

Option 2, Project Redesign:

This option involves cancelling the tender and initiating a redesign process of the building and the building function. This would make use of the existing site but would revisit the functional program.

Risks:

Price escalation due to inflation at current rates could add $8.5 million to the build cost per year.
May move project completion out to 2029.
Delays in project delivery increase the risk of unplanned closure of West Ferris Arena.
Reduction/loss of certain program functions would reduce the utility of this facility and may not meet the needs of our stakeholders.
Project delivery method changes would likely increase the risk of uncertainty in pricing.

"This option offers the opportunity to achieve meaningful cost reductions through cuts to the functional program. This approach introduces risk in the form of escalation costs due to inflation during the time it takes to redesign the project. This factor can significantly inflate construction prices, eroding any potential cost-saving benefits derived from cuts to the functional program.

"Significant reductions to the functional program will be required to achieve meaningful cost reductions while also overcoming inflationary pressures.
Public re-engagement is recommended as part of this option."

Option 3, Award the Contract:

This option involves awarding the tender and initiating construction. The project team would work with the contractor and consulting team to identify potential reductions in project cost upon award.

Risks:

Price reductions available through value engineering are minimal.
This would see construction completion in the fall of 2025 and would minimize the risk presented by inflation as well as an unplanned failure at West Ferris Arena.

The unveiling of the bids in mid-June ended any hope of keeping construction costs near the estimate of approximately $44 million as three contractors submitted tenders ranging from $70.8 million to $82.3 million. Add another $8 million in design and ancillary costs to the low bid and it is now a nearly $80-million project.

See: Low bid is $70.8M for construction of community centre

The City of North Bay issued a statement in June acknowledging all three bids had come in at least $20 million over budget. "The City had estimated the total project cost at $51.6 million, including design, contingencies, allowances, furniture, fixtures and equipment." The construction cost included an estimated 1.5 per cent inflationary escalation amount per quarter.

The lowest bid for the construction of the building, excluding the planned redesign of the Lakeshore Drive and Booth Road intersection, came in at $69.263 million or approximately $808 per square foot, according to the CAO's report, "which significantly exceeded the estimated cost. The square foot cost is within the range of community centre project awards in the last six to eight months in Ontario."

In December 2022, staff recommended the recently elected council "initiate the tendering for the construction of the multi-purpose community and recreation centre." In February, the majority of the council felt it was an effective way to move the project along while leaving itself a way out in the event the tenders come in too expensive for its liking.

See: Council approves new arena project

North Bay City Council approved the project by a 6-5 vote in February while stressing the resulting financial implications of that move would ultimately decide whether or not to build. Councillors Maggie Horsfield, Lana Mitchell, Justine Mallah, Chris Mayne, Tanya Vrebosch and Mac Bain supported moving forward while Mayor Peter Chirico and Councillors Sara Inch, Mark King, Gary Gardiner and Jamie Lowery voted against going to tender.