Thanks to costs associated with the pandemic, the price tag for Chatham-Kent’s new fleet garage has risen dramatically.
At its April 4 council meeting, council learned of the additional costs. Officials subsequently voted to approve a request from administration to funnel an additional $643,197 to complete the project.
Located at 50 Siemens Dr. in Chatham, the new building was originally approved by council in 2020 at a cost of $3.8-million. The project consolidated two former sites into one new centralized location.
At the meeting, West Kent Coun. Mark Authier questioned why the extra costs hadn’t been brought back to council for approval prior to the work being done.
Tim Dick, director of asset and waste management, described the project as “hugely challenging,” noting it started right at the beginning of the pandemic.
According to a report from administration, unprecedented and unforeseen work delays, stoppages, inflation and supply chain issues combined for the large increase.
