MANITOULIN—It now appears even more likely that the land purchased by Infrastructure Ontario (IO) in Little Current is the property that will be used to house a new Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) detachment building on Manitoulin Island.
Cary Mignault, special advisor with IO, confirmed on Monday that this property is the only one that the province has purchased on Manitoulin, at least at this time. “Infrastructure Ontario, on behalf of the government, is constantly updating its portfolio. We always do make sure due diligence on all sites before a final decision is made.”
“There has been no final decisions on specific locations for Manitoulin, or the eight other sites (that are in line for new OPP buildings),” said Mr. Mignault. He noted the province, as has been reported previously, has issued a request for qualifications for modernization—stage two.
As was reported in the January 25 edition of The Manitoulin Expositor, the Northeast Town has sold a large portion of land to IO for $125,000. The eight lots purchased by IO are located by the Little Current municipally-owned subdivision, between Boozeneck and Hayward Streets. In the story Mr. Mignault was quoted as saying, “specific details about the exact locations will be released publicly after full due diligence has been followed. The government will announce the sites chosen for development once decisions are finalized.”
IO and the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services (MCSCS) have issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for interested parties to submit their qualifications to design, build and finance nine new detachments for phase two of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) modernization project.
Nine new detachments will be built to replace buildings at the end of their useful lifespan. The new detachments will be located in Moosonee, Fort Frances, Hawkesbury, Huron County, West Parry Sound, Manitoulin Island, Port Credit, Marathon and Orillia.
The RFQ is the first step in the procurement process to select a team to deliver the project. IO and the MCSCS will evaluate submissions to prequalify project teams with the design and construction experience, as well as the qualified personnel and financial capacity, to deliver a project of this scope and complexity. Teams that qualify will be invited to respond to a request for proposals in mid-2017.
