ROCKWOOD – After an original capital project was deemed to be too costly even with a government grant, Guelph/Eramosa staff have a new plan to use the federal funding for different upgrades to Rockmosa Park.
A report going to Guelph/Eramosa council on Monday states the township received a $750,000 federal grant to build a new washroom facility at Rockmosa Park in Rockwood, originally budgeted at about $1 million.
After the tender closed, the lowest bid with HST would have put the project over $2 million and therefore the report stated awarding the tender to this lowest bidder does not give the taxpayer proper value but the grant needed to be used by the end of the year.
“Further discussions with the federal government have directed us to come up with a pivot project(s),” the report stated.
“Pivot projects are projects that take place on the same property as the originally funded project. These projects have been introduced for this intake as a number of applications faced the same budget issues as Guelph/Eramosa.”
The staff report indicates the pivot project includes: two shade structures, tree plantings, event power and upgrades to municipal water and sanitary services to the existing washrooms.
One of the shade structures is planned to be put in the leash-free dog park due to there currently being little shade in the dog park. Another larger shade structure is proposed to be adjacent to the sports fields and could be used as a registration area for tournaments and usable as a space for community events.
The report stated having event power on site will eliminate the need for gas generators and provide more opportunity for smaller community events hosted at Rockmosa Park.
These projects are estimated to cost $692,000 before contingency. The grant covers 75 per cent of the project with the other portion coming from the township.
This report will be considered at Monday’s Guelph/Eramosa council meeting.
