Fire hall budget on track
Three months into construction, the city says the new fire hall remains on budget.
By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express
After a few troubles getting out of the gate, the construction on the city’s newest fire hall is back on track.
Three months into the construction of Fire Hall 6, Mark Robinson, the city’s director of facilities management, gave a status update to the city’s community services committee.
“We got started a little late, later than expected,” Robinson said of the construction.
Despite the late start, the project is now back on schedule and remains on budget, according to Robinson.
With the exception of an additional $62,000 for deeper digging to accommodate a portion of the building, the finances remain in check on the nearly $4-million budget.
The latest finances show the project carrying a variance of just under $280,000.
“So far, I’m very happy,” said Steve Meringer, the city’s fire chief.
The newest fire hall, which will sit at the northeast corner of Simcoe Street North and Britannia Avenue, will be the main responder for the city’s quickly growing north end, as well as the new expansion of Highway 407.
During the city’s request for proposals to find a builder for the fire hall, the city received a selection of bids, all of which came in above the budget made by city hall.
Despite this, the city chose the lowest bidder, Gay Company, Ltd, and negotiated the price down to be within the city’s budget.
This mainly involved reducing the general size of the building to save costs.
Meringer previously told The Oshawa Express that the reduction in size would not affect the functionality or impact the firefighters using the building.
It is slated for completion in July 2016.