COLD LAKE – Construction of City of Cold Lake’s new public works operations centre began with a groundbreaking ceremony on Oct. 18. The new facility will be located at 69 Ave., near the Cold Lake Museums and adjacent to the nearby motocross track.
Planning for the new centre began in 2017, says City of Cold Lake CAO Kevin Nagoya. The current Public Works facility has outlived its life expectancy, and the facility is too small to house future and present operational equipment and functions.
The planning involved consideration of the facility’s long-term needs, in addition to anticipated technology advancement that will occur in the future. The City is making every attempt to future proof the building, from the design to the construction process, says Nagoya.
Azam Khan, Cold Lake’s general manager of Infrastructure Services, says the facility will feature an administration building, fleet maintenance and transit storage bays, and the back of the facility will have working bays for different departments like Roads, Utilities, Parks, and Building Maintenance.
Construction will take around 18 to 24 months, according to Khan.
In addition to the facility, traffic is also a big consideration of the construction design. Roads and parking are being carefully designed. A parking area for about 70 vehicles, for example, is part of the project. Future expansion will be possible to allow the parking area to accommodate more vehicles if needed, says Khan.
He says the centre and the surrounding area will be built with the idea that the public can come to the area and use the nearby recreation trails. In addition, the location of the new centre will allow for faster response time by City vehicles, such as vehicles used for snow removal.
“Overall, if you look into Cold Lake, we have always delivered nice infrastructure projects,” such as the City’s fire hall, the Cold Lake Energy Centre, Kinosoo Beach, and “it’s the same thing here,” says Khan. “It’s going to stay there for the next 50 or 60 years,” he adds, so the City wants to create infrastructure that is not only architecturally sound, but also visually pleasing.
Nagoya agrees, adding, “We try to incorporate those designs within the requirements of the architecture.” Within all the City’s facilities, “You’ll notice... we tried to make sure it’s designed for the times and being able to move into the future.”
The project will cost around $35 million, and separate tenders will be awarded to local companies, such as with roofing, the parking lot, and landscaping, says Nagoya, listing examples. “So, each piece [of the project] will have its own tender picket... rather than it all coming in as one big piece.”
The construction manager of the project is JEN COL Construction.
City of Cold Lake Mayor Craig Copeland was on hand, speaking to attendees at the Oct. 18 ceremony. He thanked all those involved with the project.
Copeland says everyone recognized the need for a new public works operations centre several years ago, and being able to finally start the construction is great for the community.
“The employees that work for Public Works really keep this city humming and you’re the unsung heroes,” said the mayor. “And we appreciate all the work that the men and women do for the City of Cold Lake in all departments.”
Copeland added, “We’re really proud that we finally can give some infrastructure for the City staff.”
