ERIN – The town of Erin is moving forward with the major renovations planned for the Erin Community Centre later this summer after issues with the previous tender.
Councillors approved awarding an approximately $3 million tender for renovations to the Erin Community Centre, also known as the Centre 2000, to CPM Construction during an Erin council meeting this week.
Calling the ECC renovations "a must-do," staff said Centre 2000 renovations cannot be put off for another year because an ICEP grant being used to fund the project will expire in 2025.
The project's original tender was ultimately cancelled in March 2023 after errors were identified in the bid analysis.
Originally setting aside $1.7 million for the project in 2024, including a government grant, staff suggest the remainder be covered through reserves, taxation and a COVID grant.
To reduce the impact of the increased cost on taxation in 2025, staff said there's a chance they can increase the cost to rent the Shamrock Room post-renovation while the other upgrades to Centre 2000 are expected to attract more people from outside of town.
Reduced due to increased costs, the current project scope includes HVAC, electrical, fire system, roof, main lobby, snack bar and Shamrock room upgrades and adding a generator to allow the centre to be used as an emergency centre if needed.
Staff clarified there are ongoing efforts to acquire grants to facilitate additional upgrades to areas like the theatre.
Set to finish in 2025, the renovations are expected to occur throughout the summer and fall so as not to disrupt students at a neighbouring school.
Erin resident Christina Costa also delegated to council during the meeting to ask staff to mitigate the construction impact on her and her neighbours.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program
