LONG SAULT – Residents of the Rosedale Terrace subdivision will be getting their wish of a pavilion in MacLennan Park but it won’t be as big as originally planned.
South Stormont council voted Wednesday night to build a pavilion 20 feet wide and 30 feet long, instead of the original proposal of 40 feet long.
That’s because the lowest of five bids for the project came in $18,000 over budget.
With a “pro-rated” reduction in the size of the building, the lowest bid is still $6,000 over budget, which will be taken out of a municipal rainy day account.
Council had originally budgeted $40,000 for a project on the Marydale Avenue park, based on a community survey.
Mayor Bryan McGillis and Deputy Mayor David Smith tried unsuccessfully to convince the rest of council to give the community what they wanted.
McGillis said it was “unfortunate” that all the bids came in over budget.
Deputy Mayor Smith said council would be “shortchanging” Rosedale Terrace. “I believe they’re the thing of the future, why cut back now?”
But Coun. Cindy Woods said a 20-by-30 a pavilion was “more than adequate” and she was not willing to spend more money on a park that’s “not very big. It just doesn’t make any sense.” The Lunenburg councillor added that the subdivision would be “thrilled” with what they’re going to receive.
Woods said the Rosedale Recreation Committee asked for a gazebo years ago and it “wasn’t even that big.”
Coun. Andrew Guindon added that it was a “sufficient size for that community.”
Coun. Jennifer MacIsaac said the smaller size would “still accommodate them for their fundraising initiatives. I think it would be very suitable. I still believe the slightly smaller pavilion would suits the needs of that community and they would be thrilled to have it.”
As for what caused all the bids to come in over budget, Parks Director Kevin Amelotte admitted the $40,000 budget was based on a 2016 proposal and building specs had changed since that time. “We added some inflation but maybe not enough.”
With so many capital projects left to do this year, Amelotte said he couldn’t forecast whether he could find the $18,000 in his budget, thus the recommendation for the smaller building.
The pavilion will be built by CMG Innovation of Summerstown and should be up before the end of the year.