Moncton council approves construction of $57M RCMP station

Moncton has awarded a Quebec firm the contract to build a $57.1 million Codiac Regional RCMP station in the city's downtown.

Councillors voted 7-4 on Monday evening to award the construction contract to Pomerleau Inc., the lowest of five bidders at $46,965,511.25. Other bids ranged from $48 million to $52.9 million. Councillors Shawn Crossman, Daniel Bourgeois, Bryan Butler and Paul Richard voted against the motion.

With the purchase of land, design work, equipment and a $2 million contingency fund, the project is expected to cost $57,177,130. That's down from $57.2 million the city estimated last fall.

The vote ends a nearly decade-long debate and planning process to replace Codiac RCMP's Main Street office considered unsafe and unsuitable for continued use. 

Moncton Mayor Dawn Arnold called it a historic night.

"I'm thankful that we actually had the last ten months to really invest in making sure that we had our tender package as tight as possible and we certainly saw the results of that tonight with a bid coming in under what we had expected," Arnold said in an interview. 

Last year as the estimated cost continued to climb, the city pushed a decision back until after the 2021 municipal election and looked for ways to cut the price.

Pomerleau's winning bid was about $515,000 cheaper than the city's final estimate for the cost of construction.

Elaine Aucoin, the city's general manager of sustainable growth and development, said construction is expected to start this spring. 

The city previously expected RCMP to move in starting in February 2024, but Aucoin said the timeline will now be refined with Pomerleau. 

Councillors who voted against awarding the contract offered varying reasons. 

Coun. Bryan Butler, a former Mountie in Moncton, said the existing building needs to be replaced but the new station will be too small for the number of officers he believes the city needs. 

"Fifty-seven million dollars, and if was built tomorrow, the crime rate wouldn't go down one bit," Butler said. "Do they need a new station? Absolutely. We have to build it and build it right."

Others said the city should wait until it completes a review of its policing services. Last fall, Moncton council voted to review policing, which could affect whether it keeps the RCMP. The building's designer says it could be used by a different force, though that could require modifications.

"I think we're putting the cart before the horse," Coun. Daniel Bourgeois said.

"We don't know how many police officers, we don't know what police services we need, we don't know if there would a need for a precinct [stations]." 

It was a point that echoed one raised by Coun. Paulette Thériault, who voted in favour. She suggested the city should look at small police stations - or precincts - throughout the community.

Codiac RCMP police Moncton, Dieppe and Riverview. 

A 2019 agreement will see Dieppe and Riverview pay annual rent to help cover construction costs. Based on the latest cost, Dieppe's rent will be $1,015,350, while Riverview's will be $605,337. 

Last fall when the cost estimate for the building rose Riverview council rejected a motion to back out of the cost-sharing agreement. The agreement requires the communities to pay even if they back out.

The total cost to build the station will be offset by a $3 million grant from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the organization representing communities across the country.

A staff report to council says the group is also offering to loan the city $20 million. The New Brunswick's Municipal Capital Borrowing Board has also authorized the city to take on debt for the project. 

Councillors were told that higher interest rates could make the project more costly. 

The 6,680 square metre facility is designed for up to 376 civilian staff and sworn officers. A police dispatch centre at a fire hall in Dieppe will be moved to the new station.

It's been designed to meet LEED silver environmental standards and includes solar panels, electric vehicle charging stations and other green features.

The city spent $2.45 million to buy property off Albert Street in 2019 for the station. Environmental remediation has already been completed and factored into the cost.

City staff have described the current station as "failing," requiring up to $1 million in repairs just to address urgent issues before the new station opens. Several of its holding cells were closed after a security and safety review.

Aucoin said the city will need to determine what to do with that building while construction of the new facility is underway. That could include selling the property, she said.