John Hull, the architect who handled the Stettler Recreation Centre project, was chosen to handle Phase 2 of the project by council at its Tuesday, May 17 council meeting.
Hull's bid, on behalf of John Hull Architecture, came in at $76,000, right in the middle of the five tenders received by council. Architecture Tkalcic Bengert submitted a bid of $30,000, Gibbs Gage Architects submitted one for $66,100, John Hull submitted his amounting to $76,000, Stantec offered to do the job for $83,308 and IBI group said they would accept $97,000.
The town and county had together secured an Alberta Community Partnership grant which would cover 50 per cent of the project. The remaining 50 per cent of the cost would come from the SRC Design 2 reserve account, which was factored into this year's budget, Lee Penner, director of recreation, explained to council.
Each tender was subjected to an assessment which provided each bidder with a point value, as Penner said he didn't wish to simply accept the lowest bidder, but instead to combine the value of the submitted tender and the quality of the tender together. With a score of 86, John Hull Architecture came in first.
Hull handled the first project at the SRC, taking over from a previous architect who "spun their wheels," Penner said. That same contractor also bid for this project.
Council was unanimous in the vote in favor of John Hull Architecture.
Downtown Park final phase
underway
The downtown park, located at the intersection of 50 Street and 50 Avenue, is nearing completion. Paving and landscaping took place last year, with the monument commemorating Carl Stettler being moved from its original place to the park last summer. Now, the side of the neighbouring building is having its brick facade turned into mock shop-fronts that will represent businesses that help put Stettler on the map early in the 20th century.
Skate Park looks to expand
While there were always plans to expand the Stettler Skate Park, the form that expansion will take is now being reconsidered by the group.
Mike Lawlor of the Skate Park Committee appeared before council to talk about the success of the skate park, as well as future plans.
While Lawlor was not putting a request for money before council at this specific meeting, he said the organization was hoping it could enter into a similar sort of deal with the town and county to have the skate park's second phase up and running by early 2017.
"I would rather have it built early in the year so the kids have all summer to use it, rather than in the fall," Lawlor said.
While the plan originally called for a bowl to be added, the popularity of the street elements has the committee reconsidering its second phase.
The committee intends to have the company that built the park provide options within its budget of $80,000-$100,000 for the committee — and the skate community of Stettler — to choose from.