Features

  • News Desk
  • News Briefs
  • News Summaries
  • Columnists
  • Sports
  • Editorial
  • Arctic arts
  • Readers comment
  • Find a job
  • Tenders
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
  • Market reports
  • Northern mining
  • Oil & Gas
  • Handy Links
  • Construction (PDF)
  • Opportunities North
  • Best of Bush
  • Tourism guides
  • Obituaries
  • Feature Issues
  • Advertising
  • Contacts
  • Archives
  • Today's weather
  • Leave a message


    NNSL Photo/Graphic

  • NNSL Logo .
    Home page text size buttonsbigger textsmall text Text size Email this articleE-mail this page

    Simpson pool moves to Plan B

    Roxanna Thompson
    Northern News Services
    Published Thursday, September 11, 2008

    LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - Despite a series of delays the village of Fort Simpson is moving forward with plans to construct a new community pool.

    The indoor pool will be constructed on a piecemeal basis with parts of the project being supplied by different companies.

    The piecemeal construction of the facility is a departure from the village's original plans.

    The village had hired Dillon Consulting of Yellowknife to design the pool.

    The project was suppose to be tendered in the spring of 2007 but was delayed until late in the season. As a result there were no bids, said Mayor Duncan Canvin.

    Further delays followed this year as more changes were made to the original design.

    When the pool was finally tendered again in the spring the village received a nasty surprise.

    The only bid for the project came in at $5.3 million, far more than the village's planned budget of $2 million.

    "There was a shock and a reloading process," said Canvin.

    At that point the village started looking at other options. While travelling in southern Canada this summer, Canvin saw a number of pre-fabricated steel buildings and decided to look into their suitability to house a pool. The buildings are the right size and a fraction of the cost, he said.

    "We're looking at a figure that's way below what was budgeted," said Canvin, about the project price.

    The village is now looking at a target cost of approximately $1.5 million for the project with an estimated completion date of June in time for next year's swimming season.

    The pool will be housed in a rigid steel frame building located behind the recreation centre and beside the tennis court.

    The way in which the village is putting the facility together won't affect its final quality, Canvin said.

    "It's going to be every bit as good as what we wanted."

    The village council is committed to seeing the project to its conclusion, he said.

    "They said there would be a new pool and we've slowly been going down a road to have that realized," said Canvin.

    The building from Norsteel Buildings of Ontario will be erected by TDT Crews, an Ontario-based company with experience constructing similar structures, said Tom Matus, the village's senior administrative officer.

    The building is scheduled to be on its cement footings by the end of the season, he said. The cement slab for the base of the pool and the pool itself will be constructed next year.

    The village is in discussions with a company from Alberta about the design of the pool package, said Matus.

    The rest of the work at the facility, including mechanical, electrical and plumbing, will be awarded to local contractors.

    "We're looking to get as many local contractors as we can," said Matus.

    The new pool will have a number of advantages over the current facility which is too small for the village, he said.

    At 40 by 60 feet, the new pool will be almost twice the size of the current pool, which is 20 by 40 feet. The pool will also range in depth from 3.5 to six feet.

    The pool will still be seasonal but the insulation in the new building should allow for a longer season, said Matus.