A deteriorating roof revamped in 2017 at the R.C. Dahl Centre will cost the City significantly more than they've budgeted for.

City council agreed Monday night to hire Regina's Optimum Roofing Ltd for over $811,000 for the extensive roof rehabilitation project. Swift Current had only allocated $500,000 in their 2024 capital budget for the work and will cover the overage by shifting around funding for other projects.

"The budgeted figure actually came from another roofing company that told us approximately what it was going to be," said Swift Current city councillor Tom Christiansen. "As it turns out, they didn't bid on this anyway. Maybe we needed to get a couple of different roofing companies." 

The City elected a spray foam roof application in 2017 with a low life expectancy. By 2022, they'd hired Garland Canada Inc. for a site investigation after the roof began failing, especially in the library portion of the building. Testing determined a major ingress of moisture within the spray foam and the entire roof was failing.

"We used some kind of a spray foam thing which obviously wasn't very effective," said Swift Current city councillor Pat Friesen. "My grandpa always used to say, 'Do it right the first time.' It's too bad that we didn't get a few more years out of that roof."

Rimkus completed an on-site review this past spring which included core cut tests and interviews with staff. They then made a scale roof plan and design for a tendering process. 

The project includes stripping the roof down to the steel deck, temporarily removing and re-installing nine AC units, installing a vapour retarder, installing new wood blocking and repair corrosion on steel decking, install thermal insulation and high-performance membrane, install membrane flashings ensuring complete coverage on vertical surfaces of parapets and high walls, install metal flashing, perimeters, and penetrations, and replace pitch pockets, sleeves, and cones at roof penetrations with maintenance free flashings.

"We just need to be very sure that the products that are approved or recognized by national associations," said Swift Current Mayor Al Bridal. "People come up with great ideas for things... lots of them are not proven or approved. This roof is proven and approved."

The Regina-based company sent out the Request for Proposals (RFP) that closed on June 17 with eight bidders ranging in price from $765,292 to $1.227 million.

"Rimkus and City Administration met and evaluated all bids with the criteria for selection being: overall best value considering cost, schedule & methodology, and quality of the bid submission," said Nicole Spenst, the City's general manager of Community Service 

The two parties emerged from that conversation recommending Optimum Roofing Ltd. to city council.

Work is expected to begin within the next month and be completed within 60 days. The new roof will come with a two-year warranty from the date it's finished.