Emerald Kindergarten

Funding Support

Contract & Project Management

GenEng Solutions assisted Central Highlands Regional Council (CHRC) to successfully gain funding for the redevelopment of the community Emerald Kindergarten. We were subsequently assigned to manage the design and construction project.

In 2019, Central Highlands Regional Council (CHRC) sought funding through the Building Better Regions program (round 4) for the redevelopment of the community kindergarten in Emerald to increase available places from 100 to 150, increase employment opportunities in the region, and provide a multi-function community space. GenEng was engaged on behalf of Council to liaise internally and externally to collate information in support of this funding application.

CHALLENGES

The application required addressing project assessment criteria such as planning, design and stakeholder engagement. As we had a very short timeframe in which to produce the application, GenEng conducted thorough research, coordinating with Council and various other bodies to ensure they met all criteria including engaging an Economist to provide a Cost Benefits Analysis in support of the application.

OUTCOME

The funding application was successful with Council receiving $1.4M. GenEng continued to liaise with the funding body, tenderers and contractors to ensure all funding criteria were met during planning and construction.

Council received notification of their successful application in June 2020. As we were under a current Project Management Services engagement with Council to deliver their capital works program, they assigned us to the task of ensuring that all the funding criteria were met during planning and construction. This involved:

Continued consultation with the funding body
Preparation of tender documentation
Evaluation of Tenders
Engagement of suitable contractor
Contract administration services
Project Management

The construction project was conducted in stages so that the existing kindergarten could still function while construction was taking place. One of the funding requirements was to have the project completed within a certain timeframe. This required a high level of coordination between all the relevant stakeholders and contractors to ensure the project program remained on schedule.

CHALLENGES

After funding was received, and we were given access to the plans, we recognised that there were some shortcomings in the original plan and redesigned the project to be a more cost-effective and more functional build. This required considerable negotiation with the funding body around the timing of the project.

Due to COVID related supply issues there was a danger of the project being delayed. We managed this by adjusting the design to allow construction based on materials that were more readily available.