COLDBROOK, NS - Progress is being made on the new County of Kings municipal complex but considerable work remains when it comes to siting and building a public works garage.
County of Kings engineering and public works, lands and parks manager Scott Quinn said the new municipal complex currently under construction in Coldbrook is on schedule and the building process has been relatively straight forward to date.
“At the moment, we’re projecting to be able to start moving in sometime next March,” Quinn said.
He said the contractor, Roscoe Construction of Cambridge, is hoping to soon have the exterior weather-tight and a lot of the rough-in for the interior has been completed. They are waiting on some equipment that must be installed before certain areas can be closed in.
Quinn said many design aspects of the new complex are meant to reflect and acknowledge the current complex, such as the curved feature of the council chambers. Approaching the new building from what will be the main entrance, the roof profile is intended to mirror or evoke the image of Cape Split.
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The original plan was to build a new public works garage on the same Coldbrook Village Park Drive property, which is approximately six acres in size. However, the decision was later made to build the new garage in a different, strategic location. This freed up space for additional parking and an increased footprint for the new complex, which measures approximately 22,000 square feet.
Quinn said the location for the new public works garage has yet to be determined. He said a lot of the details concerning the garage have yet to be finalized and some aspects of the original plan will be redesigned. He said some discussion with council will be needed in terms of how they wish to approach the garage project.
The current municipal complex and public works garage on Cornwallis Street in Kentville has been sold to the province for use by the Department of Justice, necessitating new quarters.
Quinn said they still have some time to consider their options in terms of the garage. The province is aware of the municipality’s situation and is being flexible with regard to the continued use of the current garage. He said the province has also been accommodating with regard to the municipality continuing to occupy its current space in the Cornwallis Street complex until it’s able to move to the new building.
In 2015, council canceled the first request for proposals for the new municipal complex due to the bids being significantly over budget.
At a special meeting in January 2017, council cancelled a request for proposals for a second time by voting against awarding the construction contract to Roscoe for the total price of $5,699,000 plus HST. This price would have included the public works garage.
This past January, council voted unanimously to award the construction contract for the new municipal complex to Roscoe for the total price of $5,310,000 plus HST, excluding the public works garage. A contingency fund of $398,250, representing 7.5 per cent of the construction contract value, was also approved for potential change orders.
