The City of Flin Flon has taken a step forward in its plan to move its public works shop to what is now the Northern Bus Lines garage.
The city is seeking a consultant to conduct a preliminary design study to outline the renovations required at the garage, which the city plans to purchase.
The city has issued a request for proposals (RFP) outlining three primary goals for the study:
• Evaluate current operational requirements and how they would fit into the new facility.
• Determine the capital cost of renovating the new facility to required standards while providing an appropriate level of functionality for the current and future operations of the city’s works and operations department.
• Outline phasing and schedule for the transfer from the old to the new facility, including detailed design, construction, changeover/move, demolition and so on.
The study is to group characteristics of the renovated building and included operations into categories such as must haves, prioritized wants, anticipated gained efficiencies, and luxuries.
The study is to offer conceptual plans of the final renovated buildings to assist the city in determining the overall project scope as well as cost differences in levels of amenities.
It is not known how much money the study will cost. Consultants responding to the RFP are to include a proposed payment with their proposals.
Responses to the RFP are due Jan. 27. The deadline for submitting the final report to the city is April 30.
The city’s current public works shop, near Channing, is said to be in dire condition. Last year, Coun. Colleen McKee said the facility “is falling apart” with a lifespan of maybe five years.
The city plans to purchase the current Northern Bus Lines garage on Golf Road for $1.25 million. The city will then have to spend an unknown sum to retrofit the garage for its purposes.
Northern Bus Lines currently provides public transit for the city, but the municipality plans to take over that service sometime this year.
The city’s works and operations field staff, consisting of about 25 full-time people and up to 15 seasonal employees, operates out of the existing public works shop near Channing.
