Battleford council wants to move ahead to make much needed upgrades to the old Town Hall building brickwork. (file photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Preserving a landmark

Battleford planning upgrades to historic Town Hall building exterior

Jun 4, 2019 | 11:45 AM

The century-old Town Hall in Battleford has a tentative appointment for a face-lift now that council has given the nod for brickwork upgrades for the building exterior.

Council discussed the issue at Monday’s meeting.

CAO John Enns-Wind said in his report many of the bricks on the surface of the building need to be what is known as “re-pointed” – repositioned or replaced, in response to a structural engineer’s assessment of the site.

The town also wants to see the building exterior cleaned at some point in the future as well.

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The CAO stated the bricks were to be repointed in 2018. But since the work wasn’t done, the funds available in the budget were carried over to the town’s 2019 reserve for the project.

Enns-Wind said he will need to advise council of the exact budgeted amount available.

The issue was first brought to the town’s attention in 2016.

“We need to start taking action,” the CAO said following the meeting, adding it’s critical for the work to proceed since it impacts the integrity of the building.

An engineering consultant had previously reported workers need to replace cracked bricks. They also need to put in new mortar around many of the bricks that are in poor condition, due in part to erosion.

The CAO added about 50-years-ago crews installed new mortar, but it was the wrong type unfortunately, and as a result this had a negative impact on the condition of some of the brickwork.

The west side of the building in particular needs attention.

“We’ve identified the worst area for this year, so that has to be done,” Enns-Wind added.

The town will be using Saskatchewan firm Brxton Masonry Inc., the lowest of three bids received, for the new contact for the brickwork. The volume of the work will depend on what is available in the town’s budget for the project carried over from 2018. Brxton’s overall bid came in at $159,569, which – plus taxes and engineering fees, totalled $194,514.

“We’ll spend up to however much money was budgeted last year,” Enns-Wind confirmed.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow