EXCERPTS
In its first meeting as a new council Monday, members will decide whether to move forward with securing an architecture firm for the child care facility at 230 Talbot St. without sending out a request for proposals.
Before the June provincial election the city was told it had secured $2.6 million to build an 88-spot child care facility at the location of the new social services building.
In a report to council, city manager Wendell Graves said it has taken time to ensure the funding would remain in place under Doug Ford’s government.
“From recent discussions with Ministry staff, the project is able to proceed,” the report says, noting there are some tight timelines to be met by the city in order for the funding to be secured.
Floor plans must be submitted to the Ministry of Education by the end of January for approval. The city will then have to submitted the approval to the provincial EarlyON capital program no later than Mar. 1, 2019.
The facility would need to be operational by December 2020, Graves added.
What has been dubbed the “family campus” will include social services, 28 social housing units and the child care facility.
Thier Curran Architects was secured for architectural services for the rest of the building, and so Graves wrote in his report that he recommended using them for the child care facility because of the tight timelines.