Summary#
Montréal city council adopted a decision increasing Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie borough’s operating budget by $97,380.89, net of tax rebates, for professional services related to gas-mitigation plans for the Centre Père-Marquette, at 1600 rue de Drucourt. The full amount is funded by the central city from its reserve for contaminated sites.
- The funding covers WSP Canada inc. and added work by the project’s architecture, engineering and building-systems firms, plus a 10% contingency.
- The work includes designing mitigation measures for methane and radon risks and coordinating those measures with the centre’s renovation plans.
- The borough must report its spending to the city’s environment department every three months.
What it means for you#
- People using the centre: The decision funds professional planning and related services. It does not itself approve or fund construction of the gas-mitigation measures.
- Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie borough: It receives the budget increase and must report spending quarterly.
- Taxpayers: The decision assigns the expense to the central city’s contaminated-sites reserve, not to the borough as the ultimate payer.
Money#
The approved budget increase is $97,380.89, net of tax rebates.
- It includes $88,528.08 for the firms’ services and $8,852.81 in contingency.
- The funding covers 100% of the expense. The final amount may be lower if spending is below the estimate.
- WSP’s contract was awarded directly by the borough. City staff say two specialized suppliers were approached; Biothermica Technologies inc. could not take the work, and WSP offered $60,821.20, taxes included.
What is unclear#
- The decision does not set out the final design, construction cost or schedule for the mitigation measures.
- It does not state what monitoring will happen after the measures are installed or what results they will achieve.
Case for#
- City staff say studies found biogas and radon inside and outside the centre. Paying specialists to design and coordinate mitigation measures could help account for those risks in the renovation plans.
- The decision uses the city’s contaminated-sites reserve, which is assigned to pay the full cost.
Case against#
- The $97,380.89 is an estimate that includes contingency; the decision does not give a final cost for the professional work or the later construction.
- The decision funds planning and related services, but does not specify the mitigation design, its expected performance or how success will be checked.