STEVE SHARRATT
The Guardian
MONTAGUE — Four tenders to build a proposed wellness centre here are almost $2 million higher than anticipated costs and have raised concerns about the next step of the project.
“It’s a bit disappointing,’’ said committee chairman Merrill Scott.
“It’s much higher than we expected and we’ll have to figure out ways to make cuts or consider other options.’’
Scott said tender bids, opened late Wednesday, all noted that steel products and oil-based products were much higher.
Tenders included Fitzgerald and Snow at $7,010,850, APM MacLean $6,791,707, Palmerleau Inc. at $7,087,358 and Southern Kings Construction at $6,897,786.
“We would consider trimming some of the frills but we’re talking about a pretty basic centre with not many extras,’’ said Scott.
The wellness centre committee will meet with architects Coles Associates next week to determine if there is some way to cut expenses and continue the project. A community canvass is currently underway to raise about $700,000 as a community share, but that was based on a wellness centre project valued at just over $5 million. The project is cost- shared by the three levels of government.