WEYBURN - Weyburn’s city council granted a tender for the demolition of the historic round house on the City’s Public Works yard, with the work slated for December.
The City received four bids for the job, ranging from the winning bid of $42,091 from A&B Concrete Ltd. up to $147,385 from Jerry Mainil Ltd.
All four bids met the criteria set by the City for the work, and representatives of the companies met on the site to see first-hand what the demolition work would consist of, said Andrew Crowe, director of leisure services.
The City had built a new fleet storage facility to replace this building, which is over 100 years old, originally built as a locomotive round house for CP Rail. The building has numerous structural failures that are beyond repair, with a part of the building blocked off as it’s too dangerous for staff to enter, said Crowe, noting the roof repairs alone would cost upwards of $1 million to do.
Asked of anything was salvageable, or if the concrete pad will be kept, Crowe said the plan is to keep the concrete pad, and added, “We will go through and salvage anything of value that we can keep.”
Mayor Marcel Roy noted some people had indicated relatives had worked in the old roundhouse many years ago, and asked if there was anything they could salvage, such as historic old signs. Crowe said he hadn’t been approached by anyone, but noted people could reach to them “and we’ll see what we can do.”
With the large range of prices to do the demolition, Coun. Jeff Richards asked if all of the companies that bid were fully aware of everything needed for the job, and Crowe assured him they had all met the criteria the City had.
“I can’t give the methodology they use in preparing the bid,” he said, adding, “We were very flexible with the completion date.”
• In other council business, council gave conditional approval to Weyburn Minor Ball to do extensive development of diamond No. 4 at Clark Park, to ensure they have enough facilities to meet the needs of Minor Ball next year.
This diamond is for under-18 ball teams, said Crowe, who noted, “Their membership keeps growing and they require the diamonds for their teams.”
As Clark Park is City property, any development work on the diamonds has to be approved by city council. Crowe noted they had begun some site work, but were told to stop the work until the project approval was granted by council.
Some of the conditions of the approval included that Leisure Services, Planning and Development, Building and Engineering departments were to conduct a review of the proposal, local residents and businesses were to be contacted for any concerns, and Weyburn Minor Ball is to cover all costs associated with the development project.
Minor Ball is also to pass on all information on the contractors to be used so the City can check them out, and a confirmation letter is needed from the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority that the proposed design is acceptable, as the land is on a flood plain.
“Kudos to Minor Ball to see them take the bull by the horns on this project,” said Coun. Richards, asking if the City might face any liability over the contractors to be used in the project.
“That is part of why we’re requesting that information, so we can go back and check on them. A lot of the contractors are ones that have been used by the City before,” said Crowe.
Coun. Dick Michel said the communication with local residents would largely concern those who reside in the trailer court, and he was concerned that they get accurate information about what Minor Ball is doing at Clark Park.
Crowe replied they have contact information for the residents, plus they will make use of media channels to ensure the right information gets out to the public.
Weyburn Minor Ball is aware that all costs of the project are to be covered by the association, and they indicated they have set aside funds along with volunteer efforts and work-in-kind from several local businesses and contractors.
• City council approved amending the Official Community Plan and zoning bylaw to allow for development of land by Kevin Melle on Regina Avenue and Grace Street. The intent is to develop the two parcels for industrial use, namely a contractors shop and yard or a similar use.
Council agreed to rezone the area from Urban Holdings to Light Industrial, compatible with the surrounding area.
