Page 30 - A_View_Of_Their_Own_the_Story_of_Westmount

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Or Brick s an d Morta r
Th e Constructio n Perio d 1994-199 5
I
t was no w time to select th e general contractor.
This contract was considered so key to th e
success of th e project that th e opening of tenders
was postponed two weeks. "Several contractors
have asked u s to give them more time an d details
so they ca n come in with a good price," explained
city public works director Fred Caluori. An d
it worked.
The lowest bi d wa s $600,000 below budget, a
windfall that would be used for furnishings. Hervé
Pomerleau Inc . go t the job for $4.88 million taxes
included. Highest of th e 10 conforming bids wa s
$6.28 million.
"We ha d ou r fingers crossed," Mayor Trent told
a special public council meeting held September 19 ,
1994, to seal th e deal.
Pomerleau took over th e site September 29 an d
sub-contractors then were chosen. Th e task ahead
was two-fold: to build a new three-storey pavilion, a
fairly straight-forward job; an d to renovate the
original library, restoring it s Victorian sparkle, a far
more challenging job.
As city director general Bruce St . Louis says:
"Everybody understands new construction. Restora-
tion captivates yo u bu t is th e most critical. Take ou t
a piece of wall an d you may find an unpleasant
surprise behind it. "
Other important players on the work site
would be: project manager Jack Shenker, of Gespro;
the city's liaison technician Frank Frenza, super-
intendent of building operations; architects Rose
and Languedoc, of course; an d the Design Team
of Trent an d Thibodeau, mayor an d library
director respectively, wh o took over th e role
of th e steering committee.
"The council trusted th e mayor's judgment an d
good taste. We left it to him," says Councillor John
Bridgman who devoted most of his efforts to th e
fundraising campaign.
"I went to th e site sometimes twice a week,"
says th e mayor whose business career ha d centred
around building materials. "I know th e tricks of th e
trade. I'm very hands-on."
Stage se t an d cast chosen, constructionwa s
poised to begin.
Of red brick an d limestone to blend with the
original library, th e new building would be raised
according to the architectural design of Peter Rose
and th e working drawings of Michel Languedoc.
It was during this period that Mr. Rose, chosen
in part for hi sWestmount residency, departed for
Boston, Massachusetts, where he wa s teaching at
Harvard University. Meetings between clientan d
architects were becoming increasingly difficult to
schedule, Mayor Trent reports, leaving a numberof
design details unsettled.
There were citizen requests. Westmount's
Healthy City Project called for the library to be
"the ultimate in environmental conservation"an d
submitted a list of suggestions highlighting energy
efficiency. The Westmount Municipal Association
hammered away for increased parking at th e new
site. Th eSeniors of Westmount Action Group
(SWAG) asked for bookcases to have to p an d
bottom shelves that would be easily accessible
to seniors.
The role of the city's director general wa s
becoming more strategic every da y in co-ordinating
the various elements. "I' m spending at least 50 pe r
cent of my time on the library," Mr. St . Louis said.
"Eighty pe r cent of the decisions ar e being made in
20 pe r cent of the time that remains."
Viewing hi s role as facilitator, he says: "I n a
project of this magnitude, there ar e different ways
of doing things an d so many different players.
I have to keep everyone up to speed an d make sure
there's consensus so the project ca n move ahead.
We've ha d 'umpteen' different ideas abouthow
something should look bu t finallywe have to have
a decision because it affects th e suppliers. That's
where I comein. "
Says Mayor Trent: "Whenever someone said
something couldn't be done, Bruce St . Louis would
say, 'I'l l find a way.'"
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