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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOD-027-07 Cl!Jlmgron REPORT CORPORATE SERVICES DEPARTMENT Meeting: General Purpose and Administration Committee Date: June 18, 2007 Resolution #GfM~ '1lf5-lJ7 Report #: COD-027 -07 File #: By-law #: Subject: Update - Newcastle Library Capital Project Recommendations: It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1. THAT Report COD-027-07 be received for information. Submitted by: Ie arano, H.B.Sc., C.M.O. Director of Corporate Serv'ces /~ , /\~ d. '\7 Reviewed by:U -.l.A...J LC Franklin Wu Chief Administrative Officer MM/EH/BT/gj CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF ClARINGTON 40 TEMPERANCE STREET, BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO L 1C 3A6 T (905)623-3379 F (905)623-5506 REPORT NO.: COD-027-07 PAGE 2 1.0 BACKGROUND 1.1 Report COD-027 -07 is prepared to provide Council with an update for the Newcastle Library capital construction project. In December 2006, Council was provided concept and schematic illustrations of the proposed 9,100 square foot Newcastle Library facility. Included in those discussions was the introduction of a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green building. This would be the first LEED Certified building to be constructed by the Municipality, demonstrating the Municipality's commitment to conservation and sustainable buildings. Since that date, the Building Committee in conjunction with the Architect have worked to achieve these goals and to remain within the revised budget of $3,450,047 as presented to a joint meeting of the Library Board and Councillors October 2, 2006. 1.2 In preparation for the final design, it is a standard practice for the Architect to undertake a Geotechnical (Soils) Investigation of the site. The final report received by the Architect indicated that the soils in this area were deficient and that design alternatives must be taken into consideration for the development of the final construction specifications. The architect and sub-consultants have developed suitable specifications to enable us to continue with the project at this site. During discussions with the soils engineer, he has advised this problem exists within certain geographical areas of Newcastle. 1.3 The development of these revised specifications has caused a delay in the preparation of the overall building specifications. This was necessary to ensure the final design documents address these concerns in order that the selected general contractor will have all required information for the construction of the facility, limiting possibilities of additional construction charges once the specifications are issued and construction has commenced. 1.4 This report will provide specific updates related to the LEED application, geotechnical investigations and revised milestone dates for Council's information. 2.0 LEED Application 2.1 The Architect is in the process of developing a LEED program submission for this project. All LEED applications are submitted to the Canada Green Building Council for approval. The LEED program is a point-based process, with certain prerequisites for qualification. The points are assigned in six areas; . Sustainable Sites . Water Efficiency . Energy and Atmosphere . Materials and Resources . Indoor Environmental Quality . Innovation and Design Process REPORT NO.: COD-027-07 PAGE 3 2.2 There are four (4) classifications of LEED Buildings: . Certified . Silver . Gold . Platinum Based on the size of this project, point limitations and budget, the Municipality will be submitting an application for a LEED Certified project. The expenses related to the LEED application and additional work for the architect and consultants are included in the revised budget. 3.0 Geotechnicallnvestiaation 3.1 Prior to the development of final drawings, a Geotechnical Investigation is undertaken to ensure the selected site location will physically support the building. In this case, the investigation by a qualified soils engineer indicated the existing site soils were not suitable for normal construction utilizing standard excavation methods and construction of supporting footings. The soils were identified as soft clay. Normally, with suitable soils, the contractor would excavate a trench and construct footings to support the building. In this case, due to the soft clay soils, there are several alternatives such as driven piles, augered caissons, or surcharging the site. Any of these three alternatives would support a building of this size. 3.2 The soils engineer has proposed a process of surcharging the site. This method is the least expensive and calls for the excavation of the 9,100 square foot building footprint to the desired depth and dumping granular fill within the footprint and letting it stand for a period of 4 to 6 weeks. The weight of this fill would cause the site to settle in advance of the construction. This method has also been reviewed by the Architect's engineers and they are in agreement with the process. 3.3 The estimated additional cost to alleviate the unanticipated poor soil condition is $150,000.00. The Building Committee is bringing this matter to Council's attention at this time. Once the Municipality receives the construction bids, the Building Committee will be in a position to make the appropriate recommendation to Council. In the interim, the Architect has made several revisions to the plans to reduce overall costs in an effort to absorb these additional costs within the revised budget and project contingency. REPORT NO.: COD-027-07 PAGE 4 4.0 Revised Milestone Dates 4.1 As mentioned, the project schedule has been delayed as the Architect, Soils Engineer and the Architects project engineers developed a suitable process for the establishment of an affordable building support system (including time required for the surcharging). The Architect advises the following milestone dates for the balance of the project: Completed Construction Drawings and Tender Documents July 05, 2007 Tender Submissions from Contractors August 02, 2007 Report to General Purpose and Administration Committee September 04, 2007 Ground Breaking Ceremony Week of September 24, 2007 Construction October 2007 Total Performance August 2008 Library Opening October 2008 5.0 COMMENTS 5.1 Construction Contractors were pre-qualified by the Committee in March 2007. Accordingly, the pre-qualified contractors are aware of the project delay and will be notified of the revised milestone dates. Based on the above dates, the Building Committee expects to receive Tender Documents in August 2007 and will strive to work within the project budget. A report recommending a General Contractor will be submitted to the General Purpose and Administration Committee on September 04,2007.