BARRHEAD – The Town of Barrhead has taken the next step toward building a new all-wheeled skate park.
Councillors selected New Line Skateparks as the company they want to complete the final design and create the construction details for a new all-wheeled park in the community.
The town received three proposals, the others being from the Canadian Ramp Company and Binnie and Associates Ltd.
About $800,000 was set aside for the project in the 2021 Capital Budget and will be carried into 2022. Funding will come from the town's Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) allotment.
Chief administrative officer Edward LeBlanc said he recommends the company noting they came out as the clear winners during the vetting process.
He noted that New Line would design and create a preliminary budget for the park at no cost to the municipality.
LeBlanc added the company will incorporate many of the design elements suggested by the public.
During the summer, the municipality asked for public input on what they would like to see in an all-wheel park, via a survey, mostly distributed online. And although LeBlanc said the survey was well-received, more public consultation was still needed.
Coun. Don Smith said he was confused, noting it would be unusual for a company to do work without compensation.
"They are going to come up with a final design but then risk not getting the final contract?" he asked.
LeBlanc said the intent is that New Line Skateparks will also be responsible for constructing the park.
"They will come with a proposal in terms of cost and design, but it would have to be endorsed by the council before going forward," he said.
Coun. Rod Klumph said before making a decision he would like to know more about New Line Skateparks.
Parks and recreation director Shallon Touet said it is a Calgary-based company that has been in business for more than 20 years and have designed more than 400 parks across Canada for communities of all sizes.
Mayor Dave McKenzie added he recently had the opportunity to speak with representatives from New Line Skateparks, saying he was impressed with their willingness to work with communities.
Coun. Ty Assaf asked if the other bidders were also willing "to work with the community at no costs" to come up with a final design.
LeBlanc and Touet said they were not sure.
However, Touet added when they first began the project and asked the companies for conceptual drawings, New Line was willing to provide them at no cost, but one of the companies wanted $8,500.
He also said that one of the companies really wasn't in contention, as their proposal was for consulting, not design and construction.
The new park will be located on municipally-owned property near the old Champion Feeds building on the east side of 50th Avenue, adjacent to Highway 18. It will replace the current wooden skate park adjacent to the Agrena/aquatics/curling rink complex next to 49th Street.
Coun. Dave Sawatzky asked if once a decision is made to go forward with the project, will there be any requirements for New Line Skateparks to use local vendors?
"It wasn't included in their proposal, but New Line said they will work with and use as much local labour and companies as possible," Touet said, noting it would be a similar process to when they constructed the aquatics centre.
Once the ground has been broken, it is expected that construction of the park will take between 14 and 16 weeks.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
