MODL awards site development tender to Dexter Construction
Council unanimously approves $305,550 contract to start project
The Municipality of the District of Lunenburg (MODL) is one step closer to breaking ground on their new municipal building.
Council met on April 2 to award Dexter Construction the tender for the site’s development, the first phase of its $ 7.2 million construction project.
A call for bids was put out in March.
Andrew Amos, a senior partner from Catalyst Consulting Engineers working with the municipality, said four contractors expressed interest in the work.
Ultimately, only three submitted bids and the numbers ranged from $291,000 to $535,000.
Dexter Construction’s bid, the lowest of the group, came in at $291,000 plus HST; MODL had previously budgeted $400,000 for site development.
Atlantic Road Construction & Paving and Brycon Construction submitted the other two bids.
“This tender really consisted of two elements. One element is stripping the ground and the other is importing the shot rock,” Amos told council.
He said that the small number of variables actually increased the variance.
Given the winning bid, Amos said it was good value for money.
“Dexter has a proven track record for works such as this and
we anticipate no issues with them,” he said, adding that the company could begin work immediately.
The motion was carried unanimously by council and allowed for a change order of up to five per cent for construction costs.
Including the change order, council approved a total cost of $305,550.
Council had previously made the decision to construct a new municipal building on Mar. 12, voting to replace MODL’S current facility on Aberdeen Road.
The new building will be built on municipality owned land in Osprey Village.
In a previous interview with the South Shore Breaker, Mayor Carolyn Bolivar-getson said the municipality would not go in debt to fund the project.
“This will not increase the tax rate and this definitely will not incur debt. We’re still onside to be debt free by 2021,” she said.
The new municipal building is expected to be completed by the spring of 2020.