Wharf refurbishment in Saint Andrews, N.B., ‘back to square one’ after council cancels tender

The Saint Andrews, N.B., council has cancelled a tender for the Market Wharf project.

Plans to refurbish the wharf and seaside town square in Saint Andrews, N.B., are “back to square one,” following a unanimous vote by the municipal council on Monday night to cancel the project’s tender.

The refurbishment was initially pegged to cost roughly $7 million, but all six bids received by the municipality were over budget (coming in between $9.5 million and $17 million).

The hybrid steel/infill project had already received pushback from some residents and business owners, concerned about its appearance and environmental impact in the harbour.

“It’s all back to square one, where we start over,” said interim mayor Kate Akagi. “… at least get everybody on the same page. And then we can move forward.”

Several councillors cited financial concerns as their reason for voting to cancel the tender.

“I voted to go to tender totally expecting the results we got,” said Councillor Darrell Ware, referencing the July 29 council vote. “It was the only way to bring it to a head. So now I can vote no, knowing deep inside I’m doing the right thing, no questions, no indecision of any type.”

Councillor Lee Heenan said his vote to cancel the project’s tender was based on financial responsibility and “not because of any bullying by email, or any other type.”

Councillor Kurt Gumushel also made note of the plan’s “significant public pushback,” and said the refurbishment’s appearance should’ve been prioritized higher and sooner in public consultations.

“We were going to do the visioning exercise for what the wharf and town square would like after the project was done, when we should’ve started with the visioning exercise,” said Gumushel. “So that was a bit of a mistake.”

Councillor Gumushel and Councillor Marc Blanchard said recent confirmation of there not being a March 2026 deadline for federal funding was also a factor in voting to cancel the tender.

“Clearly, this is going to be an expensive undertaking whatever we do. So perhaps additional funding is something we need to go out and source,” said Blanchard.

Speaking to reporters, Akagi said she wasn’t sure why town council was working under the guise of a March 2026 funding deadline.

“Whether it was government changes or whatever, we were following what we knew was correct,” said Akagi.

With no long-term refurbishment on the table, short-term repairs will have to be made to maintain the wharf as a driving structure next year, according to the town’s chief administrative officer Chris Spear.

“There’s still a lot of work to do over the next few months, especially during budget, to try and determine what next steps are and what we can do to hold that facility together,” said Spear.

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