August 2009

Two tenders for the Portage Credit Union Centre had to be amended by City of Portage la Prairie council at their regular meeting Monday.

A tender awarded to Haywood Concrete for about $365,100 was deleted and replaced by a tender to LaFarge Canada Inc. for $390,000.

The amendment, passed by unanimous council vote, was needed because Hayward Concrete could not provide the required concrete for the centre.

Construction site management company Dominion Construction recommended that council change the tender to the LaFarge.

Council awarded Haywood Concrete the tender on Sept. 8, 2008 but since that time it was determined that Haywood had not actually produced any hollow core and had only purchased equipment to make eight-inch thick hollow core when the job requires both eight-inch and 12-inch thick hollow core, Coun. Jeff Bereza read from Dominion’s comments in a Community Services Committee report during the meeting.

Hollow core is concrete that has hollow cylindrical shafts running through it.

It was also determined that Hayward wouldn’t be able to purchase any 12-inch hollow core, either.

“Therefore,” Bereza read, “because Dominion was not confident that Haywood could produce the hollow core required or purchase the 12-inch hollow core, we recommended negotiating with the next lowest bidder. LaFarge originally quoted $396,400 and ultimately agreed to a contract price of $390,000. The pre-cast line item increased $24,890.”

http://www.portagedailygraphic.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1693680

August 2009

Portage la Prairie’s PCU Centre donations continue to come in from business and citizen donors.

The total amount raised for the project as of Aug. 7 is more than $2.2 million, just over half the total donation goal of $4.1 million. There is $1.857 million left to raise.

Contributions will directly benefit the aim to secure enough funds to build the second arena in the PCU Centre

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July 2009

The Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie’s general borrowing bylaw has been revised to reflect a decision to appoint two local insurance firms to handle the RM’s $6.2-million debenture for the PCU Centre project.

Portage RM council passed first reading of the bylaw that will see the RM receive loans from the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC Life Insurance Co.) for $4.2 million and Portage la Prairie Mutual Insurance company for $2 million. The rate of interest for the RM’s total $6.2-million debenture came in at 5.6 per cent for a 15-year term.

“Requests were made to financial institutions for an interest rate …. Portage Mutual, under there with the naming rights for the second arena, requested the purchasing of debentures. So, they did a little over $3 million for the city borrowing, and $2 million for the RM,” said Reeve Toby Trimble.

At its meeting on July 28, RM council voted 5-0 in favour of the amendment to the bylaw. Trimble did not participate in the vote as he is a member of the board for Portage Mutual Insurance. Coun. Ray Davidson was absent during the meeting.

Recreation Authority MOU proceeds

Council carried first reading of a bylaw to approve entering into an agreement to establish the Portage Regional Recreation Authority (PRRA) with the City of Portage. The PRRA is currently operating as a joint committee between the City of Portage and the RM.

In a vote of 4-2 in favour of the bylaw, the only councillors who objected to the first reading were: Bill Alford and Terry Simpson. Coun. Ray Davidson was absent during the meeting.

Simpson expressed his concerns the RM needs to make sure it understands all its commitments as part of this agreement.

The reeve commented there is still time to make any required changes to the legal wording of the bylaw before it goes to second and third reading at the next council meeting on Aug. 11.

The PRRA will be in charge of the operation of the PCU Centre and any recreation facilities owned and operated by the city and the RM. It is made up of three members each from the city and RM councils, with each council appointing one citizen representative.

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July 2009

The PCU Centre tenders are a go.

At its meeting on Tuesday, Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie council approved eight tenders for construction work on the PCU Centre project at Portage’s Island Park fairgrounds.

“We are approving them and still staying within our commitment of contributing up to $8 million,” said Reeve Toby Trimble. “These all fit within that.”

The following tenders were approved by council: $261,424 to TDI for exterior metal wall panels; $309,900 to Goertzen Roofing for roofing work; $755,570 to Tri-Clad for exterior metal wall systems; $53,462 to Access Systems for overhead doors; $971,897 to Antex Western for flooring; $278,765 to Shanahan’s for various building specialties; $174,465 to Irwin Seating for arena seating; $264,503 to FC Woodwork for millwork, for a total bid amount of $3.07 million.

RM council also approved a resolution giving project manager Tower Engineering Inc. the authority to award the remaining tenders up to $4.6 million, as long as these tenders stay within the RM’s budget. The remaining tenders will deal with landscaping and paving, among other work, at the site.

Coun. Bill Alford was the lone opposition to both votes. He has contended in the past his ratepayers were not in favour of the RM’s $6.2-million borrowing bylaw to meet its $8-million commitment to the PCU Centre that was approved by the Manitoba Municipal Board in June.

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July 2009

The Portage Regional Recreational Authority (PRRA) is one step closer to actuality, as both the city and the RM councils have passed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to join forces on Tuesday.

The PRRA was one of a grab bag of issues dealt with at a special city council meeting over the noon hour. “It seemed very opportune to do it all at once,” said Coun. Dave Quinn. “Rather than dealing with 20 separate agreements, it was easier to deal with (them all at once).”

In the MOU, the city amends several existing agreements with the RM as part of a joint approach to ensure the RM will remain on board for the new PCU centre and the freshly formed PRRA.

These concessions include not charging the Portage RM for fire inspections, taking over sewer and water line maintenance for some portions of the RM, and providing two-thirds of the funding for the Fort la Reine Museum, approximately $40,000 annually. The estimated total of these amendments is $60,000.

According to the MOU, the RM will pay for 25 per cent of the annual operation costs associated with the city and RM’s recreation facilities, while the city covers 75 per cent.

Quinn said the yearly recreation operating deficit should run around the $1-$1.2 million range, and the $60,000 will be basically taken off of the RM’s portion. This would mean the RM is on the hook for $190,000-$240,000 annually for recreation expenses while the city covers the rest.

http://www.portagedailygraphic.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1657087

July 2009

The PCU Centre tenders are a go.

At its meeting on July 14, Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie approved eight tenders for construction work on the PCU Centre project at Island Park in Portage.

“We are approving them and still staying within our commitment of contributing up to $8 million,” said Reeve Toby Trimble. “These all fit within that.”

The following tenders were approved by council: $261,242 to TDI for exterior metal wall panels; $309,900 to Goertzen for roofing; $755,570 to Tri-Clad for exterior metal wall systems; $53,462 to Access Systems for overhead doors; $971,897 to Antex Western for flooring; $278,765 to Shanahan’s for various building specialties; $174,465 to Irwin Seating for arena seating; $264,503 to FC Woodwork for millwork, for a total bid amount of $3.07 million.

“The city already awarded the same tenders for the same amount. We both do it,”

said Reeve Toby Trimble, noting it was satisfying to see the tenders move along.

“We had to wait until we had our borrowing in place, and now we are moving ahead.”

http://www.portagedailygraphic.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1655883

June 2009

City of Portage la Prairie council will dip into the contingency fund for the Portage Mutual Arena’s design.

Although council originally passed a resolution May 4 for Tower Engineering, the company acting as project manager on the centre, to negotiate with Stantec Architecture on a price for designing the arena not to exceed $100,000, Stantec’s offer for designing the building came in over that.

“Stantec Architecture has provided a cost estimate of $113,000 plus PST and GST,” Coun. Dave Quinn read from a Community Services Committee report during a special council meeting Tuesday, -and costs estimated at $4,500 for design and construction services for Portage Mutual Arena. Tower Engineering has recommended acceptance of the offer.+

With the new PCU Centre on the way the fate of Portage Centennial Arena has yet to be decided.

June 2009

Ice or no ice, a faction of the Portage Centennial Arena user groups have been working together over the last year to try to get the City of Portage la Prairie to keep the arena open to meet the demands of sports teams for ice surfaces.

“Our group has been discussing on the very important need for a third ice surface in Portage once the PCU Centre, and its two arenas, are up and running. We have been trying to meet with the city for quite awhile to discuss this, but to this point, these efforts have been unsuccessful,” explained Jo-Anne Gillespie, one of the user-group members that have been working on this concern.

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