Report to: General Committee Date of Meeting: June 12, 2006

Finance and Administrative

SUBJECT: Markham Civic Centre Goose Control Guardrail Options

PREPARED BY: Eardley Adams, Project Manager

Brian Millar, Civic Centre Coordinator

Alex Moore, Senior Buyer

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report entitled “Markham Civic Centre Goose Control Guardrail Options” be received;

AND THAT approval be granted to install a cable system in accordance with Option 3 around the colonnade at the cafeteria and between the chapel westward to the first column at an estimated cost of $10,000.00 (excluding GST);

AND THAT the cable system installed on a trial basis (in the amount of $4,000.00) from the daycare to south of the chapel be retained on a permanent basis;

AND THAT approval be granted to install a white coloured steel guardrail with pickets in accordance with Option 1 between the chapel and the cafeteria at an estimated cost of $20,000.00 (excluding GST);

AND THAT Operations Department staff be authorized to naturalize the grassed area at the south end of the lake between the edge of the lake and the sidewalk (an area of approximately 3 metres wide by 60 metres in length) at a cost not to exceed $3,000.00 (excluding GST);

AND FURTHER THAT Asset Management staff proceed with the procurement of the necessary services and materials provided for in capital budget account # 056-6150-6156-005 in accordance with Purchasing By-law 2004-341.

Staff considered the following design options for the railing system.

Metal Railing with Pickets (Option 1)

This option would be a white painted, all metal guardrail with pickets similar to the railings installed within the Civic Centre. The cost to install this system along the entire perimeter of the lake adjacent to the concrete sidewalk of the Civic Centre is approximately $75,000. Attachments “2A” and “2B” illustrate this type of installation.

Metal Railing with Glass Inserts (Option 2)

This option would consist of a white painted metal guardrail with glass panel inserts within the steel frame. The cost to install this system along the entire perimeter of the lake adjacent to the concrete sidewalk of the Civic Centre is approximately $90,000.

This system is not recommended by Asset Management staff due to the high maintenance cost of regularly cleaning the glass panels and the risk that it would likely increase the incidence that birds would fly into the clear glass panels. Attachments “3A” and “3B” illustrate this type of installation.

Cable System (Option 3)

Due to the high costs of Options 1 and 2, Asset Management staff explored an alternative design that utilizes a stainless steel cable system. In February 2006, Asset Management staff installed a barrier consisting of strands of cable attached to the existing concrete columns and held in place by steel eyes approximately 250 mm apart vertically for a total height of approximately 1 metre. This trial installation is shown on Attachment 4. The trial was performed along the colonnade between the chapel and the children’s day-care centre located at the south end of the Civic Centre at a cost of $4,000. To improve on the performance of the cable system a strip of black snow fence material was added to the bottom cable. This system proved to be effective and controlled the movement of geese from reaching the walkway, the system has very little visual impact on the architecture of the Civic Centre, it is quick and simple to install, less expensive and requires almost no maintenance. Staff from the Building Standards Department has reviewed this system and have no comments or concerns.

The cost to complete the cable system to the Chapel and to install along the perimeter of the cafeteria is an additional $10,000.

Based on the trail to date, the cable system has been shown to be aesthetically compatible with the design of the Civic Centre, is functional and effective, has low maintenance requirements and is the lowest cost option.

The metal railing with pickets show above as option 1 is recommended by Asset Management staff for the portion of the perimeter railing between the chapel and the cafeteria, a length of approximately 25 metres. The railing is recommended due to its low maintenance and because the design will blend with the Civic Centre’s existing exterior railing design and will serve as a more suitable barrier for the many staff and visitors that use this portion of the walkway area for wedding, reception and as a general congregation area. The cost to install the metal railing in this area is $20,000.

As observed since the introduction of the cable barrier trial, geese are entering the walkway area at the south end of the building where the cable system presently terminates adjacent to the daycare centre. Further mitigation measures are necessary to control geese fouling the south end of the colonnade and the walkway along the south end of the lake.

To deal with this problem and as a trial measure, Asset Management staff in conjunction with the Operations Department has reviewed the area around the south end of the lake adjacent to the daycare centre and recommend naturalizing the area between the lake edge and the pathway (an area of approximately 3 metres wide x 60 meters long). It is anticipated this naturalizing method will discourage geese from entering this area and allow people to use the path more freely, will reduce the amount of grass cutting and other maintenance and will provide a modest environmental benefit. It is estimated the cost to naturalize this area will be $3,000.

The success of this mitigation measure will be monitored by Asset Management and the Operations Department’s and the success of this initiative will determine if further naturalization work would be appropriate in other areas of the Civic Centre property.

CONCLUSION

Staff recommends a combination of Options 1 and 3 as follows:

· Expanding the cable system (Option 3) around the curved colonnade at the cafeteria and between the chapel and the first column west of the chapel.

· Installing a white painted galvanized steel guardrail (Option 1) in the area between the cafeteria and the chapel

· Naturalize the lake edge at the south end of the lake

· The following highlights the options recommended for the various areas:

Specified Area	Option Recommended	Estimated Cost
The patio area between the chapel and the cafeteria	Option 1 – All metal system	$ 20,000.00
The curved colonnade around the cafeteria and from the chapel to the daycare	Option 3 – Cable system supported on posts.	$ 14,000.00
Naturalizing south end of the lake		$ 3,000.00
Total Estimated Cost (Excluding GST)		$ 37,000.00

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

The following table is a summary of the financial considerations for this report:

Original Budget and Account #	$48,500	056-6150-6156-005 Civic Centre Annual Program
Current Budget Available (unspent)	$48,500
Less Cost	($37,000)	Award to be Determined
Less Contingency
Budget Remaining	$11,500

Close upon final payment:	NO
Future Financial Impact:	NO
Finance Department Comments:	NO