Brooke-Alvinston will pay about $100,000 more than expected to repair the Alvinston water tower.
The Alvinston standpipe is used to keep the water pressure up during high usage – especially in the case of a major fire.
It has been in need of repair for a number of years, according to Randy Hills, the municipality’s manager of public works. The municipality recently received over $60,000 in grants to complete the project this year.
But when Brooke-Alvinston asked for estimates for the job which was estimated at first to cost about $165,000, the cost escalated.
One company, which erects scaffolding inside the empty water tower and then sandblasts and coats the interior of the tower gave a price of $775,000. The other, Jacques Daoust Coatings Mgt. Inc, offered to do the work for $269,000.
The Daoust tender was much lower because the company lowers workers into the standpipe in “bucket” according to Mayor Don McGugan which saves a large amount of time and labour.
Council briefly considered putting the project off for another year, hoping to get more grant money from the federal and provincial governments. “We could take a gamble and see if there is another grant,” said Hills at a recent council meeting.
Instead, council decided it was time to move ahead with the work. The extra $100,000 will come from the yearly payout the municipality receives after merging its utility into Bluewater Power years ago.
“It doesn’t leave us a lot of money left in that reserve, but at least it will be done,” says McGugan.
The work is expected to begin this month and the mayor says it is scheduled to take about seven weeks.