Contributed photo YOU NOW CAN WATCH COUNCIL meetings on Cable TV. Rogers Television began broadcasting Orangeville Council meetings this week. Each meeting will be broadcast several times for a week following each meeting. Left to right: Erin Cole, producer of First Local, Frank Bosnjak and Stefanie Peel. For such a short stretch of road, it's been a long journey to finish School Road.

Reconstruction will finally move forward with the winning bid being accepted by Allto Construction Services for $1,137,112.80.

That's an increase of about $200,000 from the previously expected cost for the project.

Shelburne council was surprised at the bids submitted by 15 companies, every one with a tender over $1,000,000.

"The cost is higher simply because we have to go below the existing utilities with the new sanitary sewer," said CAO Larry McGregor.

According to Mr. McGregor, the overall estimate for the sanitary sewer portion of the project was estimated in the Fall of 2005 at $265,000. The cost a year later, in 2006, had increased to $325,500 and the final price tag for the sanitary sewers is $496,929.50. That's an increase of 187.5 per cent.

"During the pre-engineering phase we learned that the high pressure gas and the fibre-optic cable from Bell were in the road and it was cost-prohibitive to move it," said Mr. McGregor. "We had to find an alternative and we had to redesign things to get under those utilities."

The School Road project was intended to be complete in 2006 but was delayed to find a solution to the problem.

The project was tied to another road project on First Avenue and the cost of both projects was going to be shared over two budget years (2006 and 2007).

First Avenue was complete and paid for in full in 2006 and the council will have to decide in this year's budget how to pay for School Road.

Mr. McGregor said it made sense for the Town to acquire School Road from the Township of Amaranth because of the location.

"We began looking at it three years ago because it was property that belonged to Amaranth and Shelburne needed to own it to continue to develop to the south and east of the land."

Development included full services and that meant sanitary sewers to service the property zoned commercial on the southwest side and the new Fiddle Park development.

While the Town waited for a solution the costs increased. In 2005 the estimated price tag for the entire School Road project including the roadwork, storm sewer watermain, sanitary sewer, contingencies (described by Mr. McGregor as unexpected costs not realized until the digging begins) and GST was $915,900. In 2006 the estimate had ballooned to $980,000.

"It looks like $200,000 over budget before the project even gets started," said Mayor Ed Crewson. "And we still don't know why we were turned down [for a grant] by COMRIF."

The Town had applied to the provincial government under the Canada-Ontario Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (COMRIF) for the reconstruction of School Road.

"There wasn't anything else we could have done to enhance our chances," said Mr. McGregor. "The COMRIF process was based only on the technical and our project just didn't meet the criteria."

Before the project got the go-ahead, the Mayor received a letter from Esposito Bros. Construction Ltd., shortly after the tender process was officially closed, saying two of the tenders (including the winning tender) were not submitted correctly. The letter stated two of the 15 tenders "did not include acknowledgement of addendums."

Mr. McGregor said the Town discussed it with lawyers who agreed the bids were submitted properly and should be accepted by the Town.

Council this week approved the winning tender and it's expected construction will begin in the summer.

"We have to sit down with the construction company and finalize the schedule," said Mr. McGregor. "But I expect it to begin after the school year is finished."