No Frills an option as site for new OHL arena

Mayor Daryl Bennett dropped a hint on Monday that the city’s consultant may be looking at the No Frills grocery store and the area surrounding it as a potential location for a new OHL arena, should the council eventually decide to build one.

In September, a consultant is expected to produce a new report offering recommended locations where council could consider building a major new sport and entertainment complex to replace the aging Memorial Centre.

On Monday, Bennett suggested perhaps the Downtown BIA ought to wait until that report is released before doing a beautification project behind the No Frills grocery store downtown.

The DBIA plans to remove an unused stub of Water St. behind the No Frills and covert it back into greenspace; a report to that effect was included in the council agenda Monday.

But Bennett suggested the DBIA wait to see what comes of the consultant’s report on a location for a new OHL arena before going ahead with that plan.

“I’m just looking to make sure there’s no money spent unnecessarily,” he said.

Although the consultant – Sierra Management of Toronto – has been scouting for potential locations, they haven’t publicly said where they are looking.

Also on councillors’ agenda on Monday:

City Hall renovations

The cost to install a second elevator and to renovate the clerk’s department at City Hall ended up costing a bit more than $2.9 million – up from $2.6 million, as originally approved.

On Monday, councillors voted to pay the city’s contractor, J.J. McGuire of Oshawa, an additional $361,961 to cover the extra costs.

The project was completed on June 4; it took six months longer than expected, states a city staff report, mostly due to problems uncovered during construction.

The main problem was poor soil for the elevator pit, the report states. Soil conditions consisted of loose fill and large river rocks, the report states, which made excavation and shoring difficult.

Library renovations

The architectural firm that designed the $12-million expansion and renovation of the Peterborough Public Library on Aylmer St. is charging the city an additional $110,000 for its services – and councillors have agreed to pay it.

It will bring the cost for architectural services from $619,000 to $729,000, plus HST of $94,770 (for a total cost of $823,770).

A city staff report states that a minor redesign became necessary when it was discovered, mid-point in the project, that the structural steel conditions weren’t as they seemed.

The city staff report states that the extra charge is fair, given the additional work required.