Time Extension Agreed for Water Treatment Plant Bid in the Town of Collingwood
As the November 11th deadline looms to which bidders on the Water Treatment Plant Expansion were bound to hold their bid prices, the Town and the low bidder Kenaidan Contracting Ltd. have been successful in verbally negotiating an unconditional bid validity extension until mid-January. This will allow Collingwood and New Tecumseth additional time to continue working with our potential funding partners and developers to put financing in place. Although the Town and New Tecumseth preferred a minimum 90-day extension, the Town is satisfied that there is some additional time to make arrangements that will advance this project.
“I am pleased with the cooperation of Kenaidan, in working with the Town to ensure there is sufficient time to seek funding from other orders of government and potentially additional partners. Collingwood’s water treatment plant expansion is critical for ensuring we can support the growing population and housing supply in Collingwood and in several neighboring municipalities,” says Mayor Yvonne Hamlin.
Developers, engineers, planners and representatives from Collingwood, New Tecumseth, The Town of the Blue Mountains and Clearview have also established a Task Force that is exploring funding options, including with developers, other orders of government, and funding programs. Task Force Chair, Jay Beech, Vice President, Development from Georgian Communities and a member of the Georgian Triangle Development Institute, addressed Council at their Special Meeting held November 9th, 2023 and stated “New Tecumseth is a major stakeholder with the largest proportionate share of the costs,” and requested that a “Provincial Funding Request Letter be signed by all 4 Municipalities and more that have interest in the project be pursued.”
“We have already started engaging with provincial decision makers and others to discuss financial support for this regional and long-term collaboration for drinking water. This plant expansion has been well designed and is poised for construction,” says CAO, Skinner. “We are committed to finding a solution that gets the plant built quickly, and without subjecting our communities to financial hardship.”
Background
September 12th, 2023, Collingwood Mayor, Yvonne Hamlin and Richard Norcross, Mayor, New Tecumseth issued a Joint Statement which announced that 3 bids were received from the pre-qualified contractors for the Raymond A. Barker Water Treatment Plant Expansion project.
The unofficial low bid was $212M for construction alone. The total project costs are now estimated to be in the range of $270M, and the timeline to complete the project has also been extended by about two years longer than originally projected.
This project is an essential and urgent project for Collingwood, New Tecumseth, and the surrounding area, as it can supply significant additional volume of drinking water to a 60km pipeline southerly from Collingwood, and westerly to the Town of the Blue Mountains. Without this plant expansion, we will have limited ability to build new homes, meet provincial housing targets, and continue to support commercial and industrial expansions.
The final signoff on this extension agreement is expected to occur on Friday, November 10th.
For more information about the project, please visit https://engage.collingwood.ca/water-treatment-plant-expansion