Hefty consulting contract necessary to move on Northlands, says Council

By Mark Squibb

Mount Pearl council has taken a major step in the future development of the land north of Topsail Road,

Councillor Bill Antle advised his council colleagues October 29 that staff have received two proposals from engineering companies seeking to act as consultants for the City, or in the new bureaucratic parlance, provide “Owners Advisor Services” for the North of Topsail Road project.

After reviewing the proposals, staff recommended that council award the contract to Altus Group.

“Altus’ team will provide services in areas such as project management, business consultation, legal, architecture, surveying, cost estimating, risk management, civil and geotechnical engineering, inspection and commissioning, landscape architecture, environmental, and planning,” said Antle. “Services will be billed on an as-needed basis up to the agreed limit. The Altus Team will act on the City’s behalf to facilitate development of lands north of Topsail Road —everything say from behind Avalon Ford and on the other side of Wyatt Boulevard.”

Altus proposed to provide its services for a three-year period, but staff will review the proposal at the end of the first year to determine if it will be extended, Antle said.

Staff recommended council contract Altus Group to a maximum limit of $862,143, HST included, for one year.

“This is a huge amount of money,” admitted councillor Jim Locke. “But this is a significant development in the City of Mount Pearl… This is the last vacant area to this scale that we can develop, and I’m glad that councillor Antle outlined all the professional services that are enrolled in this particular contract. There’s a lot of expertise required here. And as good as our staff are, we don’t have all the in-house expertise necessary to organise and plan something of this scale. So, I just wanted to highlight that while it’s a lot of money, there’s a lot of services for that money, and I’m hoping this development is going to be unique, it’s going to be a destination.”

Councillor Mark Rice also expressed support for the contract.

“There are so many parts of this puzzle that need to come together to make this work,” said Rice. “And getting a group that has expertise in all these areas is so important to us. Like councillor Locke mentioned, we don’t have all the expertise at the City, and we’re maxed out with staff in certain areas, but having this group come on board now, and getting us going in the right direction and supporting us and having a team approach is very important.”

Mayor Dave Aker noted that while the City has excellent engineering, planning, and finance staff, the scope of the project, which includes the planning of a water tower, is beyond the capability of City staff alone.

“We need to calculate for a variety of developers and a variety of landowners, and it’s important that the City recover it’s cost at the end of the day though a system of levies, and I think the Altus Group will be playing a major role, especially in the business development side,” said Aker. “The business model will be key to moving this forward.”

Director of Corporate Services Cassie Rideout said staff have been meeting with Altus Group, and that a return of investment for the City has been a high priority in the discussions.

“We’ve started that work with Altus already, and we understand the importance of being transparent with developers and being able to say, ‘Look, this is going to be the levy that we recover for the build of this long-term project,’” said Rideout. “We’re building, almost, a small community within our community.”

Councill Antle had the final say before the matter went to a vote.

“I sometimes hear people say, ‘How does Mount Pearl grow? What’s next?’ And Northlands is it. North of Topsail Road is where we are,” said Antle, who added the motion to award the contract is the culmination of several years work in preparing the area for development.

The area may accommodate upwards of 2,000 homes, and council hopes much of the $862,000 will be recouped through levies on their development.

The motion passed unanimously.

Huskies win Darryl Reid Memorial Tournament

The Mount Pearl Senior High Huskies edged the host Queen Elizabeth Pioneers in the championship game to win the 39th Annual Darryl Reid Memorial Tournament last weekend at the CBS Arena in Kelligrews. The members of the winning squad include, starting in the back row, from left: Gary Hayes, Mick Cutler, Marcus Wolfe, Thomas Hoddinott, Kethan Hooper, Jacob Coish, Ryan Burridge, Zach Earle, Noah Seymour, Ben Macdonald, AJ Simmonds, Denver Lacey, Grayden Bath, Ethan Collins, Cole Sweeney, Logan Power, Chris Druken, and Matthew Earle. In the front, from left, are: Kelley Button, Gavin Penney, Collin Silver, Riley Fahey, Kyle Button, Jordy Flynn, Ethan Jones, Mason Gaulton, and Matthew Bastow. Photo by Nathan Edwards

Council helps company put a better face on things

By Mark Squibb

Mount Pearl council has approved a grant in the amount of $9,100 for Venture Fireplace.

The Topsail Road business had applied to the City’s façade improvement grant program. Through the program, businesses can receive up to 50 per cent of total project costs up to a maximum of $10,000.

Venture Fireplace is aiming to restore siding, windows, doors, and its front building façade to give the building a more modern look.

Council approved the grant unanimously during the October 15 public meeting.

The matter was originally on the agenda for the October 1 public meeting. Council, however, referred the matter back to staff for further information.

Haunting of Powers Pond

Travis and Jennifer Burke, along with Wesley, Ford, and baby Dawson, were among the hundreds to brave the Haunting of Powers Pond over these last two weeks. Ghosts, goblins, skeletons, wayward creatures, strange beasts, and famous movie monsters new and old made their home along the normally peaceful City trail, all in support of the St. Vincent de Paul food bank. The Haunting of Powers Pond ran from October 18-27, with special early afternoon hours for little ghouls and goblins. Members of council applauded the work of volunteers and staff during last week’s public council meeting, with councillor Mark Rice noting that he supported the City’s decision to close the trail outside of business hours — despite some negative pushback from some residents —to protect the over $40,000 worth of spooky decorations the City had purchased. Mark Squibb photo

City opts to keep it in the cloud

By Mark Squibb

Mount Pearl council has approved a new cloud to hold its data, documents and information.

“The City has recently issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Laserfiche Cloud Services and Data Migration,” explained councillor Mark Rice. “This initiative aims to transition from our current on-premises Laserfiche installation to a cloud-based solution. The selected service provider will be tasked with delivering ongoing support and license management for the City’s Laserfiche Municipal Site License.”

The City received five proposals, which were evaluated based on technical and financial criteria.

Ricoh Canada, which has provided Laserfiche support to the City since 2012, was the lowest qualified bidder and also received the highest score.

“With the existing relationship with Ricoh Canada and their technical support team, the Department of Corporate Services anticipates that the transition to this service delivery model will be a seamless process given their knowledge of our Laserfiche environment,” said Rice.

The three-year contract will pay Ricoh $33,743 including HST for 2025, $34,755 including HST for 2026, and $35,798 including HST for 2027, for a total of $104,297, including HST. Contract extensions will be considered before the contract expiration date.

Mount Pearl extends dehumidifier service contract

By Mark Squibb

Breathe easy — the City of Mount Pearl will be keeping the air in the Summit Centre fresh for another year.

Councillor Bill Antle, during the public meeting of October 1, explained that in June 2021, the City finalized negotiations with Dehumidified Air Services for a sole source service agreement for the Summit Center’s Seresco unit. Council officially awarded the contract in November 2021, for an initial three-year term, with two, one-year extensions available if agreeable to both parties.

The first-year cost $21,735, HST included. The second and third years cost $22,164 and $22,613 respectively, due to a two percent annual cost increase.

“The Manager of Facilities Management consulted with Dehumidified Air Services regarding the potential extension, and they agreed to extend the contract for an additional one year at the same terms and conditions of the existing contract at the City’s discretion,” said Antle. “Dehumidified Air Services offered a discount over previous years —they gave us a deal — offering the same service for the one-year extension for a total sum of $21,850, HST included.”

Antle, at the recommendation of the planning committee, moved that council extend the existing sole source service agreement with Dehumidified Air Services for an additional one year for the period of January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2025, for the annual bid amount of $21,850, HST included, at the same terms and conditions of the existing agreement.

The motion passed unanimously without further discussion.

Miles for Smiles

Members of the Miles for Smiles Foundation were at Mount Pearl City Hall last week as council proclaimed October as Child Abuse Prevention Month. According to the Foundation, which is a non-profit group dedicated to prevention of child abuse, raising support for victims, and awareness of the issue, one in 10 children will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday. Members say if you suspect that abuse is taking place, report it. From left are councillors Isabell Fry, Chelsea Lane, Jim Locke, Connie Pike, Bev Moore Davis, Tom Davis, Mayor Dave Aker, and councillor Bill Antle. Mark Squibb photo

Promise of new community centre now set in concrete

By Mark Squibb

Construction of Mount Pearl’s new community centre has begun.

Deputy Mayor Kieley noted during last week’s public council meeting that work is ongoing and the foundation for the new facility has been poured.

Kieley called the progress “incredible” and said the facility will be a pinnacle of the community.

The contract for the new community centre, valued at $15.5 million, was awarded to JMJ Holdings Ltd., earlier this summer, and a groundbreaking event was held in July at the Team Gushue Sports Complex, the home of the new facility.

The new community centre is poised to replace the aging Park Place facility, and will boast amenities such as a splash pad and ice rink surface and a multi-purpose space complete with stage and retractable bleachers. The centre will be capable of providing seating for 500 people or accommodate 1,000 people standing.

The centre was first announced in July 2021, and construction is expected to be completed by early 2026.

City asks residents to check radon levels

By Mark Squibb

The City of Mount Pearl has partnered with the Canadian Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists (CARST) to provide 400 residents with free radon test kits.

Radon gas is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers in Canada and often goes undetected.

The kits, which are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, will be made available to the first 400 residents to register at mountpearl.ca/radon-testing. Registration also includes information on the health effects of radon, and Health Canada’s recommendations.

“The Radon Test Kit Challenge is a great opportunity to help Mount Pearl families protect their health,” said Mayor Dave Aker. “With increased awareness of air quality, reducing radon gas is vital to lung cancer prevention.”

The Town of Conception Bay South recently offered a similar program, and just this week learned that of the 111 homes tested, 30 per cent were above Health Canada’s acceptable radon gas levels. According to the federal government, the average number of homes that test positive across Canada is only about seven per cent.

Radon is a colourless and odourless gas that results from the breakdown of uranium in soil.