Woolwich looks to trim costs of Heidelberg Park field house project

UNHAPPY WITH COSTS THAT came in well above its budget, Woolwich will look to the contractor with the lowest bid for suggestions to lower the price tag on a new community centre building in Heidelberg.

Frey Building Contractors’ bid of $442,500 was well above the targeted amount of $300,000 to $350,000 to replace the condemned field house with a new structure. Councillors meeting Tuesday night leaned towards sticking with an upper limit of $350,000, discussing scaling back the project or staging it in order to get closer to the target figure.

At the quoted price, Woolwich would have to come up with more than $177,000 to cover the shortfall between the total cost and the $273,000 that’s been raised so far, mostly the result of a $150,000 Ontario Trillium Fund grant. That the grant money has to be spent this year means the township has to move quickly to get something built by year’s end.

Coun. Mark Bauman suggested the project’s design be scaled back, perhaps eliminating “some of the frills” to bring down the costs without losing any functionality.

“I think that there are ways we can lower this number substantially,” he said of the $443,000 price tag.

Chief administrative officer David Brenneman agreed the $350,000 target was “more doable.”

Coun. Murray Martin, however, cautioned about cutting back too much now with the idea of adding on later, noting that would end up costing more down the line.

“Let’s do it right the first time,” he said.

In the end, councillors agreed that going back to the contractor for suggestions on where to save money was the course to pursue.

Council now on summer hiatus until August, staff is expected to come back with a recommendation when meetings resume.