Councillor Pellerin admonished for getting second quote on Verner building
Christian Gammon-Roy
Tribune
West Nipissing Council discussed possible repairs and upgrades to three municipal buildings during its August 11 meeting. On the agenda were washroom upgrades for the Cache Bay community centre and kitchen upgrades for the North Monetville community centre, at roughly $300K each, and finally some pressing repairs to the brickwork on the Verner municipal building, estimated at $60K, to prevent further damage while council continues to discuss long-term options for Verner.
In Cache Bay, the hope is to add a wheelchair accessible washroom, in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). According to a concept floor plan shown in a staff report, the project includes upgrades to the existing men’s and women’s washrooms, and the addition of a third, universal washroom for wheelchair access. The report cites a cost of $303,311 excluding HST.
During discussions, mayor Kathleen Thorne Rochon asked if the current facilities are functional and suggested that perhaps a simple cosmetic revamp of the existing facilities could be done while focusing on the construction of only the universal washroom, to trim overall costs. Staff confirmed that the washrooms are currently functional. However, Councillor Roch St. Louis did point out issues with leaking toilets, sink plumbing and light switches with the current layout. “The Cache Bay trailer park sold for $790,000, what’s wrong with taking $300,000 and putting it back into that building,” St. Louis asked, suggesting that they go forward with the full revamp.
