The Town of Collingwood and low bidder Kenaidan Contracting Ltd have agreed to an extension on the contractor’s bid to expand the town’s Raymond A. Barker Water Treatment Plant. Now all the municipality has to do is find the money.

On September 12, the towns of Collingwood and New Tecumseth, which share the plant, announced that they had received three bids for the project.

The unofficial low bid was $212 million for construction alone. The total project costs are now estimated to be in the range of $270 million, and the timeline to complete the project has also been extended by about two years longer than originally projected. The timeline will be further affected by the bid validity extensions.

The towns were able to reach an agreement with Kenaidan, the terms of which see the contractor maintain its bid price until April 15. The towns are hopeful they will be in a financial position to continue with the project as tendered at that time. 

The towns are working together on the project to ensure the needs of both communities are met. Collingwood has facilitated regular working group meetings with New Tecumseth, local developers, and other potential municipal partners to explore possible funding options and programs, as well as having discussions with multiple provincial ministries. 

New Tecumseth Mayor Richard Norcross and Collingwood Mayor Yvonne Hamlin met with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Development during the recent Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference. The leaders reiterated the need for the province’s help to fund the project so that both communities can continue to grow and meet the province’s housing targets. 

“We are committed to ensuring our community has the services and water it needs today and into the future,” said Norcross. “New Tecumseth and Collingwood have been and will continue to work collaboratively in seeking solutions and continuing the discussions with the province as we need financial support to complete the necessary plant expansion.” 

This project is an essential and urgent project for Collingwood, New Tecumseth, and the surrounding area, as it can supply significant additional drinking water to the existing 60-kilometre pipeline south from Collingwood, and west to the Town of the Blue Mountains.

Without the plant expansion, the towns say they will have limited ability to build new homes, meet provincial housing targets, and continue to support commercial and industrial expansions.