Sylvan Lake’s library expansion project is off to a good start with the winning tender well below early budget estimates.
Council voted to award a $273,720 contract to Timcon Construction at its Monday meeting. The winning and lowest bid was nearly $90,000 less than the budgeted $360,000.
Tenders closed in late November, with six bids ranging as high as $383,400.
The total cost of the renovation project will be about $330,000 because a roof inspection showed about $56,000 in repairs are needed. Those will be done by a separate contractor.
Red Deer’s Berry Architecture and Associates has been hired to design the revamp, which will see the library expand into space left by the departing archives.
The archives are moving into a space in the newly completed Municipal Government Building.
About 900 square feet will be added and used to create a much-needed public meeting space.
Existing meeting rooms will be turned into additional space for books.
Sylvan Lake’s 2012 Feasibility Study for a Community Complex said the existing library was undersized and recommended a new one be built as part of the first phase for a community hub.
The expansion project is expected to buy some time until a new library is built.