FERGUS – As outside help is recruited to design and construct the township's new operations centre, staff are trying to figure out where the doctors living in a farmhouse on the property will go during construction.
Approved by Centre Wellington council Monday afternoon, staff previously recommended awarding the $1.4 million contract to Ball Construction Ltd. to provide design build and construction management services for the construction of the new operations centre on a 20-acre site at 965 Gartshore St. in Fergus.
The property is currently home to a renovated farmhouse and accommodation space for healthcare professionals with room for four physicians at a time in April 2023. The property housed 32 physicians last year.
"I'm pretty sure the locums work evenings and nights and so will be sleeping in the day, I'm just curious how we're going to work with that," said Coun. Lisa MacDonald, asking for feedback from the doctors during the meeting. "Maybe we need to consider moving them to another spot while all this is going on."
While staff said physicians can continue using the farmhouse as a residence during pre-construction activities, CAO Dan Wilson confirmed during the meeting that housing the healthcare professionals on-site during construction "is not feasible" and a solution will be brought forward to council "very shortly" on how to get the residents in an alternate location "prior to full construction."
According to the report, the operation centre's remaining approved budget is planned to be used in 2024 to fund pre-construction activities including earthworks, extending water and sanitary services to the property line and demolishing surplus outbuildings excluding the farmhouse this fall and next spring.
To be separated into two phases, the design-builder/vendor will have "sole responsibility" for all the project's "necessary" design-build and construction management services.
The design-builder will also produce a detailed design, budget estimates, tender drawings and documents and procurement tools as a part of the first phase.
Originally purchased in 2021 to replace six aging and at-capacity buildings, the new operations centre is intended to house multiple township departments including public works, engineering, water services, parks and recreation, information technology, planning and development and vehicle and equipment storage.
A cost estimate and pre-construction activities are anticipated in the fall with construction planned to begin in 2025 and be completed by the end of 2026.
The project was originally estimated to cost $28.5 million based on 2021 pricing.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
