Duncan’s City Hall is set to get a major face lift and upgrades over the next couple of months.
It’s expected that scaffolding will begin to be set up around the heritage building, which was constructed in 1913, by the end of April. It will be used by workers to replace the roof and to repair and renew the entire sandstone façade on City Hall.
Duncan council voted to award the contract for the façade project to Lennox Masonry, for approximately $173,600, at its meeting on April 15.
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Brian Murphy, the city’s director of public works and engineering, told council that the funding request for the façade project was a late addition to the council’s agenda for the meeting as the city tries to coordinate it with the roof-replacement project.
The $675,000 contract for the roof repair project was awarded to Solex Wall Systems last November after it was determined that the existing slate roof on the aging structure is facing persistent and ongoing issues, including leaks and multiple failures that sometimes result in slate tiles sliding off the roof onto the lower-level roofs and the sidewalk below.
Murphy said the city had received two bids for the façade project, but both were over budget, so the city decided to work with Lennox Masonry, which provided the lower bid, to see if the company could reduce the amount of scaffolding they would use if they aligned their work schedule with the schedule of the roof-replacement project.
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He said those negotiations were successful and, with both contractors willing to share scaffolding, the amount of the contract for the façade project has been reduced by at least $50,000, which brings its costs well within budget.
“But to align this work, we need to award [the façade contract] right away,” he said.
“Both contractors are ready and willing to work together, so they’ll start assembling the scaffolding at the end of April and start work in May. We expect it will take a couple of months to complete and we’ve been assured there will be no disturbances to the [Duncan Farmers’ Market].”
The two projects are part of a number of other projects planned for city hall, including major seismic upgrades, that were estimated to cost more than $10 million is a study that was completed in 2022.