Fort Frances will dip into a reserve purse to cover extra funds needed to finish work on the fire hall.
Municipal staff designed and tendered for the renovation of the Fort France Fire Hall through 2024 with initial tenders coming in well over the project’s budget. As a result, the scope of work was dramatically reduced to bring it in line with the budget.
Tenders closed March 25, and the project was awarded to Tom Jones Corporation at a cost of $502,032.96 including a $20,000 contingency.
Since then there’s been additional plumbing work required to address washer extractor infrastructure previously tied into stormwater lines unknown by the town’s Operations and Facilities staff at the time of design. That unforeseen complication ate up most of the contingency funds set aside.
Additional structural engineering of the roof system was also required.
At the completion of the design works, the contractor quoted the works coming in a $58,000 plus applicable HST. It’s work that’s crucial to the installation of the roof top units and maintaining the integrity of the roof system at the fire hall.
Council agreed during its Oct. 27, 2025, meeting to cover off the additional cost with money from the Corporate Buildings Reserve.
