What we’re hearing about BeaverTails (10 City Council briefs)

EDITOR’S NOTE: City officials have clarified the roof to be repaired at Roberta Bondar Park. The contract mentioned in this article involves two flat roof systems beside Beaver Tails on the park’s service buildings. One is for the flat roof portion behind the amphitheatre and the other is for the flat roof portion over the storage-canteen-washrooms area.

‘Mav’ MacDonald’s Maverick & Son Exteriors and Consulting Services Inc. has been awarded a $154,160 city contract to replace a roof near the popular BeaverTails location at Roberta Bondar Marina.

The new roof will also cover the city-owned venue’s washrooms.

Sault-based Maverick won over two other bidders: Nu-Style Construction Co. Ltd. ($216,700) and Pro North Roofing ($214,830).

Maverick’s price includes some optional concrete repairs.

Other decisions made at Monday’s meeting of Sault Ste. Marie City Council include the following:

• At the suggestion of Ward 2 Coun. Luke Dufour, the city will investigate options to ensure the cost of new development accurately reflects the cost to the general levy. Dufour pointed out that assessment values have been increasing in some parts of the city but not in others. He argued it's in the best interest of all ratepayers to ensure assessment distribution is spread as evenly throughout the city as possible. He said his proposal isn't seeking a new tax on developers or on the construction industry
• Half an acre of land at 931 Black Rd. will be purchased by the city from Jane Bean and Colleen Scott. The $12,000 deal is the last of six land purchases needed for a $2-million Black Road widening project to proceed
• The city will sell a vacant lot at 206 Cathcart St. to Frank Shunock's JHCD Unlimited Inc. for $12,000. The property was acquired by the municipality in 2016 after a building there collapsed because of lack of maintenance. Shunock is planning to seek rezoning on another nearby property he owns at 267 Cathcart (home to David Ellis Architects). He wants to use the vacant lot for additional parking. The lot is 33 feet wide and is considered to have only limited development potential. Unless variances are granted, any house built there would need to be a really skinny house
• Robertson Restoration of Brantford, Ont. won a $158,400 contract to restore windows, chimneys and the foundation at the city-owned Ermatinger Old Stone House
• Councillors agreed to continue building outdoor mausoleums, after learning almost nobody in this city wants indoor mausoleum crypts
• As we enter a second pandemic year, the city will waive $5,564 in rental and labour fees for YMCA day camp services at John Rhodes Community Centre. Day campers will be allowed swims as part of the agreement. Day camps are currently closed under lockdown orders
• The city will enter into an agreement with Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corp., Sault Ste. Marie Regional Conservation Authority and Sault Cycling Club, defining their respective roles and responsibilities in the Algoma Trail Network
• The city will enter another, single-source agreement with engineering and design firm WSP (previously known as Marshall Macklin Monahan) to review the Hub Trail route around the Machine Shop/ Mill Market area
• Mississauga-based EllisDon Corp. won a $798,128 contract for a second phase of the downtown boardwalk remediation. This year's work includes installing scour protection along the St. Marys River from the viewing platform to the Delta Hotel. High water levels in recent year have resulted in boardwalk sinkholes