Gravenhurst Rotary installing amphitheatre style seating at the barge
Gravenhurst Council approved the recommendation for new tiered seating at Gull Lake Rotary Park, in the February 13, 2024, meeting.
Director of Infrastructure Services, Andrew Stacey, advised that in 2021 the Rotary Club, who the park is named in recognition of, came up with the idea for the new type of seating and have been working diligently with their Rotary Rocks the Barge campaign to generate funding for the project ever since.
The Club has also made other financial contributions to expanding the park over the years, including the Rotary Pavilion, the Disc Golf Course, and the Friendship Circle.
According to the staff report the park has generated a lot of attention over the years. It indicates, “Music on the Barge situated just off the shoreline of Gull Lake Rotary Park is a time-honoured tradition within our community that dates back to 1959. To this day, the Barge continues to regularly host outdoor concerts, ceremonies and theatrical productions and is [a] gathering space for those with a passion for the arts and celebrations.”
Stacey indicated that the Town’s consulting engineers have been working on the design aspect of the project and have received the green light to go ahead with it from the Rotary Club.
He said after a tender process staff decided upon a construction company called Powcon Incorporated and will enter a contract with them.
According to the staff report, the company was one of ten of bids received, with the lowest bid at $564,940.11, excluding HST.
Construction is scheduled to begin on March 18th and end in May, with the goal of not having a negative impact to the community during the busy season.
Stacey said, “I think it’s exciting. We don’t normally get opportunities to do things like this. I think it will have a positive impact on the community.”
Mayor, Nancy Lorenz, concurred with Stacey, expressing excitement about the project as well. She indicated that it’s also encouraging to have many tender bids post Covid, allowing the Town more options than they’ve been getting for other projects over the past while.
Lorenz added that the Rotary Club is excited about the project too and about getting it completed.
Councillor, Randy Jorgensen, inquired about whether Council can approve the construction material for the seating prior to installation at the site for their point of view regarding aesthetics.
Stacey assured Council that the Town is getting the specific material they wanted.
