THUNDER BAY — Putting up a new building, especially in parts of Thunder Bay's south side, sometimes requires long pilings.
This adds to the cost, but members of city council say the expense of putting 10-storey pilings into the ground did not factor into their ultimate decision to abandon plans for an indoor turf facility at Chapples Park.
The length of the pilings was noted at a recent city council meeting after an inquiry from councillor Brian McKinnon.
Although he expressed surprise, other members of council said they already knew.
Councillor Mark Bentz, who chairs the admnistrative services committee, told TBNewswatch "Yes, the pilings would go down 10 storeys. And we actually had to add an extra onto the contract to extend the length of pilings in some areas."
Bentz said the need for pilings is always an issue when building "on muskeg."
TBNewswatch obtained confirmation from city administration that the costs associated with the pilings at Chapples would have totalled $1.54 million.
Bentz said many councillors were concerned about this, but "it was just one of many aspects of this project that was its demise...the extra costs to put it in that location were a concern to some. And eventually the pandemic and the increasing costs was the straw that broke the camel's cost."
Mayor Bill Mauro, who supported the Chapples location, said it was never a secret that pilings would be needed.
"We all understood that there was going to be a significant depth required in that spot. The previous council would have known that or had some sense of that when they identified it as the site for that building," Mauro said.
He added that the costs of installing the pilings were all accounted for in the bids submitted by contractors.
"The price that came back, that 37 million dollar number with a two million dollar contingency built in, included the pilings and everything necessary for the pilings," Mauro said.
The mayor pointed out the city had ensured that geo-technical studies were done ahead of time to determine what would be required to support the covered turf structure.
Mauro said pilings are "part and parcel" of construction in Thunder Bay, pointing to the Lakehead District School Board's Ecole Elsie McGill Public School as a recent example.
"I was paying close attention to that. That was one of the last projects I got over the finish line when I was still MPP...It sounds like they were surprised by what came back, so their budget needed to be adjusted."
Mauro added "That's the distinction here. We weren't surprised. We knew what was required, and those costs were built into the tender that was voted down by council."
Pilings for Ecole Else MacGill Public School were even longer
The in-ground supports required for Elsie MacGill Public School turned out to be an average of 165 to 175 feet, making the foundation work for the building "incredibly expensive," a board official said at the time.
TBNewswatch was told that geo-technical surveys initially did not indicate the pilings would have to go down that far.
A breakdown of the consequent cost increase was not provided, but the price for building the school eventually mushroomed from $20 million to $30 million.
Some of the increase was attributed to delays in obtaining steel as a result of tariffs imposed by the U.S.
A board spokesperson noted that pilings of a similar length were also needed to build the Hogarth Riverview Manor long-term care complex.
Westfort councillor Kristen Oliver, who ultimately backed away from awarding a contract for the Chapples project, recalls learning about the pilings issue early in the planning process.
"I wasn't surprised, I knew it would require some significant piling work," Oliver told TBNewswatch. "We know it's on the tip of the bog. I don't know why this would be a surprise to anyone, to be honest."
Current River councillor Andrew Foulds was among the five council members who voted to award the $39 million dollar contract.
He said he was "100 per cent aware that we were building on ground that was complex...I would say I wasn't so much surprised that we were going to go that deep but more disappointed because of course that does add cost, there's no question."
Foulds said he's keeping his mind open to other options.
"We did okay this project at this location because of the Chapples Master Plan. But maybe this is an opportunity to come up with a better opportunity. I'm not sure what that looks like."
He added "Council remains sovereign. If there's an aspect of the master plan they don't agree with, they don't have to move forward with that aspect. You don't have to throw everything out."
The Chapples Master Plan received by city council in 2017 includes a potential multi-purpose indoor sports facility, eight soccer fields, expanded track-and-field facilities, a skate park and a junior golf training centre, as well as a variety of other amenities.
The proposed timeline for completion of the plan is 15 years.
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