Work on the East Ferris Community Centre roof truss structure over the ice pad will commence soon now that a $787,200 tender was awarded to Kenalex Construction at a special meeting of council, Thursday.
Steel columns will replace 17 solid timber posts supporting the 11 bowstring trusses, plates will reinforce existing trusses to correct unbalanced loading and the glulam chords will be preserved. The scope of the work also includes tightening of all cross bracing rods and replacing all web members and braces.
Other bids included Venasse Building Group Inc. for $970,000 and Maki Construction for $886,000. All prices quoted do not include HST.
“Essentially, all of the interior roof truss system is being replaced except for the glulam beams,” states the report to council by Jason Trottier, East Ferris chief administrative officer and treasurer. The report references BRY-CO Engineering’s 2019 Arena Roof Structural Assessment Report and the consultation by Whittington Engineering Ltd.’s following a site inspection last summer.
Trottier noted that it’s cost $20,000 each year to remove snow of the roof the past two winters as a safety measure since the 2019 engineering report.
Councillor Rick Champagne noted how it was important to get started as soon as possible.
“Hopefully we’ll be open for next season,” he said about the timeline.
Tom Slack, community centre manager, told council the six-month estimate for the project would push the normal Labour Day weekend opening into mid-September.
Agenda Package for East Ferris council meeting March 18, 2021
BRY-CO had recommended a full replacement but Whittington concluded the glulam chords are good but the white paint needs to be removed and proper preservative used. Trottier said replacing the full roof structure would have cost “significantly” more and the top membrane of the roof is fine with Bill Bryant telling council the “roof is in excellent condition.”
The report notes that additional costs will include BRY-CO Engineering acting as site authority and overseeing the construction project or Whittington Engineering’s inspection of the work they recommended.
“At this time, the engineering costs cannot be estimated as the overall cost is dependent on how well the project proceeds and the number of inspections required,” Trottier wrote.
According to the report, project financing has been secured through the Royal Bank of Canada and set up in two phases: construction financing with advances during the construction phase at RBC prime rate (currently 2.45 percent) + 0.5 percent, and a take-out loan for the final amount after completion of the project. The fixed loan interest rate will be quoted by RBC and fixed at time of borrowing. The terms available are five, seven, or 10 years and the loan is amortized over 15 years. As of the date of the offer, interest rates for a fixed term loan are as follows: five-year term 2.75 percent, seven-year term at 2.85 percent, and 10-year term at 3.55 percent.
Dave Dale is a Local Journalism Reporter with BayToday.ca. LJI is funded by the Government of Canada.
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