The construction contract for the Parksville Community Centre (PCC) has been awarded and renovations plans are ready.
During the Monday, Dec. 20 city council meeting, MKM Projects Ltd., a Qualicum Beach contractor and construction management firm, was awarded the contract for $1.4 million so the community centre can be revamped to accommodate childcare spaces, as per the leasing agreement with BGC Central Vancouver Island.
The manager of special projects for the city, Michael Lonsdale, said MKM Projects was the only applicant to the city’s Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI).
“We listed an upset limit price… and then asked people to say why they would be the best ones to deliver the project and commit to delivering it at that price,” he said.
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The RFEI amount of $1.4 million, acquired through federal grants the city applied for in 2020, was determined during the grant application process where city staff consulted with local contractors.
Separate from the $1.4 million is a contingency fund of $327,380.42 to protect the project from risk of any unknown conditions, such as encountering hazardous material, supply chain issues or escalating materials costs. If there are any remaining cost from the contingency fund, Lonsdale said it would go towards the renovation upset limit.
“It’s not reasonable for us to assume that MKM knows where there may or may not be asbestos at this time, so we wouldn’t ask them to commit to that. That’s a risk that the city is going to manage,” he said.
Lonsdale said he aims to sit down with MKM’s principal operator to begin planning in the first week of January with hopes to start renovations in the first week of February, with the targeted completion date of June 3, 2022.
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A brief overview of the planned renovations includes converting two backside meeting rooms into dedicated childcare spaces, with the addition of a ‘nap’ area in one, and washroom/changing facilities in both. Lonsdale said one of the rooms will be for children up to three years old and the other for children up to five, if they’re potty-trained.
Both rooms will have fenced grass gardens outside will all-weather, low-maintenance surfacing material. The existing trees in the area will remain. Behind the PCC and parking lot, in the grassy knoll area, a fenced playground will also be installed.
The existing commercial kitchen will not be affected as part of these renovations.
When asked by Coun. Marilyn Wilson if the PCC signage at the front of the building will change, Lonsdale said the existing sign will remain intact, but may be supplemented with additional signage for BGC Vancouver Island and Emergency Management Oceanside, who will also have dedicated spaces.
The motion, moved by Coun. Mark Chandler and seconded by Wilson, to sign the construction contract to MKM Projects was favourably passed with Coun. Doug O’Brien in opposition.