City Council Decides on Option 1 for Exterior Design of New Main Sewage Pumping Station

Brockville – Brockville City Council voted on Tuesday night to go for Option #1 for the exterior design of the new Main Sewage Pumping Station to be built in Centeen Park.

There wasn’t much discussion on staff’s recommendation of Option #1 which was the lowest bid for the exterior design of the new Main Sewage Pumping Station. City Council unanimously voted in favour of option #1.

Peter Raabe, Director of Engineering & Infrastructure for the city said that option #1 was the staff choice to go forward with as it was the lowest bid and that the public’s choice, option #3 the sail garnered some 280 votes.

“Between options one through four, they varied in pricing anywhere from 20 to 29 million and our recommendation from staff was to choose option 1 although it was not the public’s favourite we felt that it met all of the operational needs and corrected a lot of the deficiencies that currently exist at the existing station, we felt that the design would still be quite decorative and pleasing to the eye and we felt that spending the extra money in this case was not necessary.”

Although the public expressed a slight preference for Option 3 – The Sail, City Council accepted staff’s recommendation to proceed with Option 1 – Traditional.

“The Traditional design is considered the most practical choice, as it addresses all the operational and design challenges associated with the current station while offering an attractive, aesthetically pleasing exterior. Additionally, it comes at the lowest estimated cost compared to the other options.” said the City

Mayor Matt Wren also addressed the issue of funding for the main sewage pump station, “The important thing that happened between the time we decided to have some further renderings done and so forth, was as council knows, we found out that the sources of funding from the upper tiers of government are not available at present and we need to be very conscious of the cost of this project because it could well end up a 100 percent city of Brockville expenditure.”

Now that council has decided on option #1, J.L. Richards & Associates Limited who are designing the new main sewage pump station can continue the design which will see a full detailed design including landscaping and exterior features to be undertaken in 2025.

In March 2024, City Council made the decision to construct the city’s new Main Pump Station as an above-ground structure. This decision was influenced by the strong emphasis placed by both Council members and residents on the visual aesthetics of the proposed station.

Understanding the importance of its appearance, City Council sought to ensure that the design would be well-received by the community and blend harmoniously with its surroundings.

J.L. Richards was hired to create four conceptual architectural renderings for the proposed Main Pump Station. These renderings showcased different design options and were presented to both the public and City Council for review and feedback.

“The Traditional design is considered the most practical choice, as it addresses all the operational and design challenges associated with the current station while offering an attractive, aesthetically pleasing exterior. Additionally, it comes at the lowest estimated cost compared to the other options.” said the city.