THUNDER BAY — The City of Thunder Bay is looking for a contractor to upgrade docking facilities at the municipally-owned marina at Marina Park.
About 30 floating docks on Pier 2 are set for replacement, as well as the dinghy dock used by smaller boats. However the dinghy dock is considered a lower priority, and may be postponed depending on total costs.
The budget for the project is $450,000.
The floating docks were constructed in the early 1980s, and "have essentially reached the end of their useful life," says Cory Halvorsen, manager of parks for the city, "We've been planning on having them replaced for some time."
There is a total of 230 slips at the marina, but they were installed at different stages over the years and are at different points in their projected life span
The docks are well-used, with the majority taken up by permanent slip-holders. "If they have any temporary vacancies, we have temporary users as well," Halvorsen noted.
A project this large is not something that's undertaken frequently at the marina.
Halvorsen said "Typically, we wouldn't go for a contract of this size annually, We would have to save up some reserve funds for a few years before we would take on a project of this size."
The city's request for proposals from contractors specifies that the work be done between October 1, 2018 and May 15, 2019 so as not to interfere with the current and following boating seasons.
