Council Approves Extra Demolition Funding For YMCA Building
After sitting empty for over a year the former Crescent Park flagship headquarters of the now defunct YMCA of Moose Jaw drew closer to a date with the wrecking ball as Council unanimously approved additional funding to proceed with the demolition of the building.
The Moose Jaw flagship YMCA building just prior to the decision to close it - MJ Independent file photo
Initially given the go ahead to be put out for tender as part of the 2020 Capital Budget the demolition was deferred, along with other lower priority capital projects, as a cash saving measure because of the COVID - 19 pandemic.
At the time the City was unaware of the total impact the pandemic would have on residents and businesses as State of Emergency measures were enacted shutting down businesses and putting people out of work and no assistance programs had been announced.
During discussion about re-instating the deferred capital projects it was revealed that the tenders received for the Y’s demolition came in higher than the anticipated $295,000. The RFP has yet to be awarded and may have to be re-tendered due to it being issued in April.
“When we initially discussed the demolition of the YMCA the number was around 250 (to) $290,000. This number seems a little bit higher. Maybe I lost something or I overlooked somethng can I please get an explaination for that?” Mayor Fraser Tolmie stated.
“I believe we budgetted around $300,000 and the actual tender came in at this number that is listed here,” city manager Jim Puffalt said.
In the report to Council the Y’s demolition initially had $295,000 budgettted but the lowest tender came in at $405,000 meaning a further $110,000 would have to be approved for the demoltion to proceed. The additional $110,000 would be transferred from the City Hall cooling system upgrade reserve.
Discussion regarding the demolition turned to what exactly the tender paid for. with two Councillors - Scott McMann and Brian Swanson - asking questions about the details.
Councillor McMann wanted to know if there would be additional costs to remediate the site.
“If we go through with the YMCA building demolition do we have any idea what we are planning to do in Crescent Park and what the costs might be to remediate that area?” Councillor McMann asked.
Council was told the $405,000 tendered amount included turning the former Y site back into a grassed area.
“The current scope of the project would be just to restore the turf so we would jsut re-seed the area to grass,” Parks and Recreation director Derek Blais said, adding there would have to be further consultation as there had been other ideas put forward for the site.
“I know a community gardens has been tossed around and different things like that so we would look to consult with the community on future options for that site,” Blais said.
Councillor Swanson asked questions about why the City was charging the project (ultimately the City itself as owner of the building) dumping fees at the landfill when the former Union Hospital evaded said fees and a large portion of materials was dumped at the City Yards.
SEE RELATED - Questions Asked About Dumping Fees plus Golden Opportunity Missed
“I dont know why I have to keep raising this point and it never gets addressed the Union Hospital for which we were only responsible for 20 percent of the costs got to dump all of that refuse for free at the City Yards…why would we charge ourselves dumping fees for the Y when we could dump it at the City Yards for free like they did the hospital?” he asked.
“We don’t charge the provincial government dumping fees but we will charge ourselves dumping fees. I dont know where that is something out of some strange book ”
Blais said the dumping fees were included in the $405,000 bid but they were not included in the tender portion.
“It’s going to be a revenue and an expense. It is going to be a revenue to the utility and an expense (to the demolition) they are going to off-set each other, “ Blais said. The exact amount is yet unknown.
“I know the revenue and the expense portion but I just think about how many hundreds of thousands of dollars we let (the Province) off the hook dumping at the City Yards. I just don’t understand why we wouldn’t dump at the City Yards?” Swanson asked.
Later in the discussion City Manager Jim Puffalt said the City Hospital dumping fee issue had been dealt with and the issue dated back many years.
“I know we have talked about dumping fees multiple time and that what happened with the hospital again was addressed three or four years ago and it has been addressed multiple times with Council,” Puffalt said.
In an FOI MJ Independent found out the reason why the majority of the materials from the Union Hospital’s demolition ended up in the City Yards was due to the fact the landfill is rapidly reaching capacity and Administration was hoping to extend its life.
Council was further told that materials which could be salvaged would go to the City Yards but such things as asbestos - a hazardous waste - would have to go to the landfill. Something similar was done in the case of the Moose Jaw Union Hospital. Cement which could be ground up and turned into aggregate was taken to the City Yards for later processing.
The re-cylcing of cement to aggregate would be approved by Council after materials from the Union Hospital were already dumped in the City Yards. The recycling is seen as a potential money maker for the City.
SEE RELATED - Reclaimed Material
Immediately following the Council Meeting in questioning from MJ Independent Blais clarified the future process for the Y’s demolition demolition.
Blais said Administration would have to see if the contractor would still honour the March issued RFP as it had been many months since the April bids were received.
Additionally there would have to be a decision made whether or not in fairness (to allow everyone to bid who may want to) the RFP should be re-issued because it had been so many months since closing.
If the contractor would no longer honour their bid a new RFP would need to be issued. A new RFP would require Council’s approval.
The exact demolition date could be as early as this Fall, Blais said, adding it all depended on the contractor’s schedule and if a new RFP had to be issued.