Fort Frances town council has decided not to award a contract to fix up Sunny Cove Camp’s Russell Hall.

A lone bid for the work comes in well over what was expected.

The tow, last year, received $495,000 from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund.

Operations and Facilities Manager Travis Rob says the decision not to award a contract does not mean an automatic loss of that funding.

“And even as administration is putting together some options, we can talk with NOHFC to see what may be eligible and what we may be able to redirect that funding towards in terms of next steps and going forward,” says Rob.

The decision to go to tender came after a discussion in 2023 by council to dismiss administration’s recommendation to sell off the camp acquired several years ago from the Kiwanis Club.

A report then identified Russell Hall suffering from dry rot and an infestation of carpenter ants.

Town council later agreed to commit $215,000 toward camp repairs.

A structural analysis and engineering design were completed with consultants offering two options to address the hall’s condition.

One proposed the rehabilitation of the existing damaged structural members at an estimated cost of $500,000.00.

The other option calls for demolishing the entire structure and constructing a new building, at a potential cost of $1.9 million.

Council is now supporting administration coming back with a new report that outlines potential directions that could be taken.

“If we are looking for options on alternatives, we do need to make sure that it’s in line with the initial award of the NOHFC funding,” says Chief Building Official John Burrows.

There is no exact date for when administration’s new report would be presented to council.