Upgrades can push Garage Garage Reno $ 1.4 million above the budget – ElorafergustDay

Elora-spreading the life of a public work, which has become a music place for summer, can cost the county much more than it was initially expected.

A new report presented to the District Committee on Tuesday Tuesday estimates that upgrading the Elora Public Works garage at 7454 Wellington County Road 21 will lead to the project costs to $ 2.195 million.

Designed to extend the life of the building by 2050, the proposed upgrades include the connection of the building to the city wastewater, replacement of the building siding, rehabilitation of the foundation, the reimbursement of the site and the addition of a bay for washing.

To date, $ 800,000 has been approved for the project.

“So we have $ 800,000 approved expenses. If there is any work that happens, it will fall into this envelope,” said road manager Joe de Koning. “The wider scope of work will require more money … We will improve it this year.”

Approximately $ 80,000 from the project budget is currently dedicated to acoustic reasons, as the garage, also known as the Gamblel’s barn, has doubled as a summer place for a concert for the Elora Festival for more than 20 years.

An acoustic study by HGC Engineering found that the replacement of existing eight feet of wooden walls of the garage with poured concrete would increase the reverberation of space “to some extent”.

The replacement of the lower walls with a four -foot concrete wall would have a large extent inconspicuous change in the acoustic conditions; ” The staff said that everything higher would lead to more significant changes and would be more noticeable, given that the height of the wall will be above the ear level for most standing patrons.

“I think the long and the short of the report is that we can do the job to improve the structure of the building and still maintain the integrity of the sound in the building,” said de Coning.

At the meeting, Coun. Campbell Cork asked how to improve cost estimates could affect the bottom row and whether any insignificant elements could be removed from the design range.

De Koning said that the current location has worked without a bay for washing from the 90s and its removal can always be considered.

Kao Scott Wilson suggested that the festival plans be shared before issuing the auction to ensure that the proposed design would not create problems as he heard that the place was considered “acoustically perfect”.

Looking at the future, De Koning said that the staff should determine when the work would be undertaken and whether to temporarily displace the festival or find alternative storage of the sand and salt.

“Special attention” will be considered to minimize adverse effects on the ELORA Music Festival during construction.

The project will be offered in 2026, waiting for the approval of the new budget.

ISABEL BUCKMASTER is the local journalism reporter for Guelphtoy. LJI is a federally funded program.