The agreement to accept the 2018 Altus Canadian Construction Cost Guide as a financial baseline was a key highlight of the Advisory Select Committee’s (ASC)14th meeting on June 20, 2018.
The motion to adopt the Guide “as a basis for a ‘worst-case’ project cost estimate in the high-end range of $350 per square foot for an estimated 14,000 square feet Fire Hall including associated development costs” was passed by the ASC, with one member abstaining.
The Altus Guide is the Canadian real estate industry’s leading guide to development project costing.
Information provided by the guide draws from 2017 project data from over 1,200 domestic project engagements, with summary findings for markets across the country.
While it is still too early in the deliberation process to draw directly from the data of the Altus Guide, the decision to use it as a prime document for costing trends and real estate/construction development is another step forward in the ASC’s progress, said FireWise Consulting Ltd.’s Ernie Polsom, who acted as consultant for the meeting.
“Our goal at this point is not to begin discussions on the Fire Hall design – the ASC is not at the stage where it can address development and design issues — but to establish the Altus Guide as a reliable external authority,” he said.
Another important occurrence during the opening minutes of the meeting was the resignation of ASC member Don Cherkas, also a member of the Committee for an Affordable Fire Hall. In his resignation letter, he wrote of his opinion that the ASC was not making an “honest effort” to explore other “more economical alternatives to the proposal defeated in the December referendum.”
The ASC responded to Mr. Cherkas’ departure with the following statement:
“We thank Don Cherkas very much for the work he has done with us. His input at this table was valuable. We appreciated his volunteer time and commitment to building a new Fire Hall. He will be missed.”
The remainder of the June 20 ASC meeting was devoted to discussion of the Committee’s upcoming Open Houses on June 24th and 25th in the Creston Room at the Creston & District Community Complex. For more information about the Open Houses, click here.
The ASC’s 14th meeting was held from 6:30 to 7:27 p.m. in Council Chambers at the Town of Creston’s Town Hall. Subsequent meetings are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on select Wednesday evenings throughout June and July 2018, with the next meeting set for June 27, 2018.
The ASC was formed to make recommendations to Council on solutions to address the deficiencies of the existing Fire Hall in order to meet the province’s legislative/regulatory requirements and industry standards. To view the latest ASC Meeting materials, click here.
Submitted by Kerry McArthur | Community Fire Hall Advisory Select Committee Facilitator | Communications Coordinator