Following a full hour of discussions behind closed doors last Thursday, Dufferin County Council voted to approve an $8.6-million tender for the long-awaited courthouse expansion.

Construction, by Bertram Construction & Design of Barrie, could begin within weeks. Completion of the twostorey structure should be before the snow flies in 2011.

It wasn’t known how much of the in-camera hour was spent on the tender as part of the time would have been devoted to a land purchase. Negotiations for “a purchase” were subsequently approved in open council, but whether those are related to the courthouse expansion was not revealed.

The courthouse approval – required by the Ministry of the Attorney General to keep Provincial Offences courts in Dufferin, among other reasons – had been on a virtual roller coaster for several years.

“Five years. That’s the longest time I have ever spent on any project,” said Chief Building Official Mike Giles in a casual conversation, in which he breathed sighs of relief and looked forward to celebrating with an exotic cigar when he got home, after Thursday’s meeting.

Funding was a major, but not the only, stumbling block. That was not resolved until last November when a $5.4-million federal/provincial stimulus grant was announced. That grant had been approved earlier but kept under wraps while the county sorted out some Heritage requirements. At the grant announcement, MP David Tilson congratulated the county for being able to overcome obstacles to become eligible as a “shovel ready” project.

Last Thursday, the council chose the lowest of seven bids and awarded the tender to Bertram for $8,607,900, leaving the county’s cost at a bit over $3 million, exclusive of soft services and other things. The highest bid was just shy of $10 million. All bidders had been pre-qualified.

In its five years of deliberations, county council had scaled back the size of the addition to 26,000 square feet from an originally recommended for 32,000.

“The project involves construction of additional courtroom space, a sally-port with a tunnel for prisoner transport, as well as some new space for County staff, some of whom are currently based in the 53 Zina Street building and others currently in the 51 Zina Street courthouse building,” states a brief outline in the report to council on tendering.

Design and landscaping had been major considerations. The original courthouse was built in 1881 along with the former Registry Office next door – which is now used by the Public Works Department. There had been two additions in the 1970s, on the Elizabeth Street and the Zina Street sides. But this major addition had to blend in with the original character and that of this section of Zina.

There were the usual neighbourhood objections to the project, as well as a concerted effort to block the razing of the countyowned residence adjacent to the Registry Office.

But confirmation last Thursday that the project would be undertaken might have been the most urgent aspect. It is an assurance that Provincial Offences Act charges against Dufferin County residents, when laid within the county, will be tried in Orangeville rather than in Caledon East.

As well, Criminal Code charges from Caledon will continue to be heard in Orangeville while at the Ontario Court level. Those that proceed to Superior Court are more likely to be tried at Brampton.