Arena upgrade to cost more than double

Roger Varley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

In March, the Township asked for tenders for the supply, delivery, and installation of a new board system at the Uxbridge Arena and set the budget for the project at $100,000. However, in a report to council, recreation manager Hunter Gardner said "a few changes" to the scope of the work were needed regarding the height of the glass around the ice surface and some modifications to the penalty boxes. She said the lowest bid came in at $244,785 plus HST, $144,785 over the approved budget.

The report said the glass around the ice surface would increase in height to 96 inches from 84 inches along the spectator side, eliminating need for safety netting. Other modifications would include two gates in the penalty boxes and glass shielding in the penalty boxes.

Gardner said Sound Barriers, the company with the lowest bid, reported that there has been an 11per cent increase in aluminum costs, largely due to tariffs, although they exclusively source from Canadian suppliers. She said Sound Barriers also cited labour shortages and increased cost of materials were also taken into account. That led regional councillor Bruce Garrod to ask if companies are using the tariffs as an excuse to increase their profits. He said labour shortages and supply chain problems resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic are long over.

CAO Honey said the Township could re-tender the project "but I believe the best price has been put forward." She said the overage could be covered by reserves. Garrod responded that using reserves could impact other major projects planned for the arena.