Kenaidan has agreed to extend the deadline for their bid for the Collingwood water treatment plant expansion for a third time, now to April 15.
The Town of Collingwood made the announcement through a press release on Jan. 25. This is the third time the town has requested the bid of $212 million be extended while Collingwood and New Tecumseth work to find funding solutions for the project.
As of now, the entire cost of the project is expected in the $270 million range, with an estimated date of completion of August 2029, although that may change now that the bid deadline has been extended.
According to the press release, New Tecumseth Mayor Richard Norcross and Collingwood Mayor Yvonne Hamlin met with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Development during the recent Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) conference.
“With the support of council, I have been working tirelessly meeting with various cabinet ministers to make clear the need for our provincial partner to step up and assist with the cost of this plant expansion,” said Collingwood Mayor, Yvonne Hamlin. “I am further grateful for the continued support of New Tecumseth, our municipal partners, the development community and Kenaidan, as we continue to explore all opportunities to ensure the viability of this project prior to the April 15 deadline.”
“New Tecumseth and Collingwood have been and will continue to work collaboratively in seeking solutions and continuing the discussions with the province as we need financial support to complete the necessary plant expansion,” said New Tecumseth Mayor, Richard Norcross.
According to the press release, the project bid extension will result in adjustments to project milestones and any associated costs will be confirmed when the contract is signed.
Three bids for the work delivered in September started at $212-million and went up from there. Kenaidan was the lowest bidder and the town has been working with them to keep the bid on the table. Originally, the bid expired in November.
Since receiving the bids, Collingwood, New Tecumseth and the other municipalities involved (Clearview and The Blue Mountains also get some drinking water from Collingwood) have been trying to come up with a plan to cover the increased cost and make due with the current plan for longer since the completion date estimated for 2026 is now pushed to 2029.
Most recently, Collingwood council sat through a three-hour closed session on Jan. 15, emerging to vote on a couple of motions including a request to Kenadian to extend the deadline for the bid from Jan. 16 to later, and make an official request of the other three municipalities to find out how much drinking water they'll need from the new plant.
Council also agreed that night on an undisclosed budget to pay Hemson Consulting Group to finalize a development charge bylaw for the water treatment plant, which could include advanced charges to help cover the costs of the plant expansion. AECOM will be tasked with reviewing the potential for increasing the capacity at the current plant through rehabilitation in order to meet the drinking water needs of Collingwood for the next eight-or-so years.
Collingwood, New Tecumseth, Clearview and the Town of the Blue Mountains have been working together with some local developers on a task force charged with finding funding solutions, which includes lobbying the provincial and federal governments for assistance with the costs of the new plant.
At a joint council meeting between all four municipalities on Jan. 11, Collingwood’s chief administrative officer Sonya Skinner, noted that so far, efforts to gain federal and provincial funding for the project have been unsuccessful.
