CENTRE WELLINGTON – The Fergus Wastewater Treatment Plant secondary digester roof replacement plan is coming back for a second time to Centre Wellington committee of the whole on Monday.
Staff previously recommended a gas holder stainless steel floating roof which would cost around $2 million.
Township staff are once again trying to move forward with this plan to have the roof replaced by next fall.
This was first presented at an August meeting where some councillors felt there wasn’t enough information presented about going with a fixed roof with lower upfront costs.
Staff was adamant that this was the right choice but the recommendation was ultimately defeated in a tie vote with mayor Kelly Linton, Neil Dunsmore and Steven Vanleeuwen in favour and Bob Foster, Stephen Kitras and Kirk McElwain against.
Councillor Ian MacRae was absent from this meeting.
Colin Baker, director of infrastructure services, stressed at the time the township could be considered to be non-compliant with their Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) and therefore face fines and charges.
A report to the committee of the whole says the roof is nearly 30 years old and is leaking gas to the environment.
The township tried to repair the issue by sealing the leak but this was not successful.
The report reiterates staff’s view that a floating roof is the right way forward despite a seemingly higher up-front cost.
“Although the supply cost of a floating roof is higher than the supply cost of a fixed roof, the difference in overall project cost between the two roof types is relatively minor,” the report says.
According to the report, switching to a fixed roof would be disadvantageous because it would delay replacement and increase other costs such as amending their ECA, a new procurement process, a structural analysis and changes to the treatment plant.
The committee of the whole meeting on Monday will decide if staff move forward and add additional funding to the 2021 capital budget for this project.
