A wise decision was made by council Monday night, as it rejected all tenders for renovations to the administration building.
Administration had recommended council go with a bid from Medicine Hat’s Amron Construction, in the amount of just under $1.176 million.
Councillor after councillor spoke about how uncomfortable they were spending that kind of money on the project.
Certainly, there is little doubt the building could use some renovations, as the case has been made for how inefficient the building is.
However, spending over one million on the administration building, when other priorities exist in Taber, was something council knew simply would not fly amongst the electorate.
Minor renovations have been done over the years and unfortunately, a large sum of money has also been spent on architectural designs ($72,172.88) and a needs assessment ($23,550.33).
If the project actually went ahead in full, and every last dime would have been spent on construction, architectural designs and assessments, the total bill would have rang in at $1.5 million (though $43,700 of that would have been for the conceptual design for the Centre Court for the Arts).
Now, it is back to the drawing board, as council has said it will provide administration with further direction in March.
Many on council suggested renovations in the range of $300,000 to $400,000 would have been more palatable, while a few advocated for a new building altogether, rather than sinking a million dollars-plus into what some see as a sinking ship.
Also in the equation was the fact no local contractors bid on the job.
The bid-bonding requirement prevented that, and the suggestion was also floated out the renovations could be broken into smaller chunks, to allow local contractors a better opportunity to bid.
Of course, some on council also raised the opinion the money could be put to better use elsewhere.
Looking back at the budget deliberations, there were many crucial infrastructure projects council pushed to the backburner.
There is also the matter of the Centre Court for the Arts, which could certainly use that million dollars to finally polish off that endeavour.
And if we are looking to spend money, how about a second full sheet of ice for Taber? A look throughout Alberta reveals Taber is one of the only towns our size without two full-size arenas.
Even Coaldale has a second arena on the books, and as Taber becomes a bigger hub for hockey, as small-town programs in other communities falter and send their kids here, demand for ice will be ever growing.
Both a second ice arena and a theatre complex would also be solid economic drivers, something Taber could sorely use right about now.
Spending a million-plus on the administration building certainly would not have the potential economic impact of other projects.