North Huron breaks ground on new fire hall on Friday

BY DENNY SCOTT

The combined Fire Department of North Huron Blyth hall and North Huron Blyth Public Works shed project is already facing increased costs after the first phase of the project was approved at Monday’s council meeting.

The project is proposed for the north end of Blyth on property the municipality acquired earlier this year after facing backlash from the community over suggested locations for the facility proposed at the time.

North Huron Council was told that, due to significantly more soil on the property than anticipated, specifically at the back of the property, the low bid for the preliminary site work would cost $352,800, $125,848 more than anticipated.

Director of Public Works Sean McGhee explained that, in some locations on the property, there would be more than two metres of fill under the crust of the land, which is responsible for approximately $72,000 of the additional charges.

While the municipality plans to try and use as much of the fill as possible, including packing some back into the ground to support the facility, it does still represent an additional cost for the project.

Council approved the tender of Kurtis Smith Excavating Inc. of Brussels for the project, which came in at the aforementioned $352,800 price tag, plus applicable taxes.

Lavis Contracting Company Ltd. also tendered on the project, however its bid was significantly higher, coming in at $519,293. A review by engineering firm B.M. Ross verified that both tenders were properly documented and mathematically correct, meaning council was free to choose the lower bid.

North Huron has scheduled an official sod-turning ceremony at the site at 9 a.m. on Friday, May 10, to mark the start of the project.