Paul Bickford/NNSL photo
Hay River town council has upped the amount of money to rebuild the training room at the Emergency Response Training Centre, which was hit by fire in 2016.
However, the actual cost to the town will remain $5,000 as the rest of the expense is expected to be covered by insurance.
At its May 14 meeting, council approved a motion to increase the capital budget allocation for the work from $180,000 to $240,000, conditional on insurance confirmation of cost recovery for the higher amount.
The insurer had previously confirmed it would cover the $180,000 cost, minus the deductible.
The motion also directs administration to award the supply and installation of the training room to Blackstone Homes, which submitted a bid of $225,000.
Administration had conducted a request for proposals process, and two were received.
Both bids were higher than the approved budget, but the lowest was from Blackstone Homes.
In addition, there is an $11,000 cost to replace a deck and $4,000 for an engineering company to approve the foundation for the building.
Administration has advised the insurer of the higher cost and is awaiting confirmation that it will be covered. Confirmation is expected, but it had not been received as of May 14.
According to background information for council, town administration requested conditional approval of the contractor in order to begin the work as soon as insurance coverage is confirmed for the higher amount.
"The deadline for completing this project is August 31, 2019, so time is of the essence to award the contract and proceed with the project," states the report to council from Fire Chief Ross Potter, who is also the town's director of protective services.
A fire on May 22, 2016, destroyed two buildings at the Emergency Response Training Centre – the training room and a smokehouse.
The training room was a trailer used for classes and meetings, while the smokehouse was a trailer used for smoke training.
The Emergency Response Training Centre on Vale Island was constructed by the Hay River Fire Department in 1996. In addition to the two destroyed buildings, it includes a burn tower, a vehicle extrication area and more.