Property Management Department highlights doubled work orders and postponed projects in upcoming budget review
CARLETON PLACE — Carleton Place’s Property Management Department has nearly doubled its workload in the past year and will require careful scheduling, deferred projects and structural reviews as it moves into 2026.
Manager Ross Rankin delivered his initial budget presentation to council on Nov. 13, outlining pressures across town facilities, growing maintenance demands and several capital projects driven by safety, accessibility and aging infrastructure.
Rankin oversees one project manager, a team lead, two property maintenance technicians, and several fulltime and part-time cleaners across the fire halls, library, and childcare facilities.
Work orders doubled in one year
In 2024 the town shifted to a new work-order system, and Rankin said the volume of required repairs and inspections has increased significantly.
The department completed 397 work orders in 2024. By 2025 that number jumped to 770, with 533 completed and 217 still in progress or not yet started.
“A lot of that is the nature of the buildings we look after,” Rankin said, noting that facilities with more square footage, including the arena, the daycare and the community centre, generate the highest number of requests.
2025 work and carry-overs
Rankin highlighted several projects completed this year, including exposing original brickwork at Town Hall during staff-area renovations, painting the pool basin, and finishing the final year of exterior painting and window repairs at the museum.
Some 2025 capital projects are being carried into 2026 because of timing or contractor delays, including:
- Rooftop units at the arena and Carambeck Community Centre;
- Refrigeration plant controls;
- Blasting and staining of the Moore House logs;
- Pool repairs identified in the building condition assessment; and,
- Upgrades at the Canoe Club boat bay, pending further investigation.
Key capital projects proposed for 2026
Several items from the asset management plan are included in the 2026 request:
- Arena refrigeration compressor overhaul (one of four, done on rotation);
- 2,700 square feet of arena roofing over the Zamboni and compressor rooms;
- LED lighting upgrades at Carambeck Community Centre;
- Carambeck roof replacement, with design work already completed;
- Daycare irons and kitchen electrical upgrades;
- Pool dehumidification system replacement, originally due in 2022;
- Pool building code repairs;
- Town Hall main flat roof replacement;
- Town Hall vinyl window replacements; and,
- Design and costing for heritage wood window repairs, planned for 2027.
Rankin noted that some facility equipment, particularly at the pool and daycare, is now at or past end-of-life.
Deferred projects tied to grant uncertainty
A number of mechanical and energy-efficiency upgrades, particularly air-source heat pumps, building automation systems and refrigeration controls, are being pushed out while the town waits for a decision on its federal Green and Inclusive Community Buildings Fund application.
The town applied for $4.55 million under that program, which covers 80 per cent of eligible costs. Carleton Place’s contribution would be almost $911,000.
Rankin said other municipalities have only recently received approval notices.
“Until they say no, I’m still hopeful,” he told council.
Accessibility work continues
Rankin is proposing $40,000 annually from 2026 through 2029 to address items identified in last year’s facility accessibility study. Some library accessibility upgrades were nearly grant-ready in 2024 but missed a deadline.
Fire safety plans also require updates across all buildings, including standardized evacuation diagrams.
Structural reviews and security system pushed to ‘parking lot’
Both the arena and pool require their standard five-year structural assessments in 2026.
A request for a Town Hall security access system received pushback from councillors and has been slated for later discussion, with no indication it will remain in the budget.
Additional deferrals
Rankin noted several items were removed from the 2026 list despite being identified in the asset management plan with more shifted to 2027:
- Canoe Club roof replacement;
- Two boilers at Carambeck;
- Hot pool sand filter;
- Two furnaces at the Canoe Club; and,
- Boilers at Town Hall.
Department priorities for 2026
Rankin said the department’s top priorities are improving the facility asset management system, developing an inspection-based work-order system for Town Hall HVAC, and determining which routine maintenance tasks can shift back to in-house staff.
With work orders nearly doubling, Rankin expects to return to council in the second quarter of 2026 with a departmental review and possible staffing recommendations.
“We need to determine what portion of work is going to be done by an external contractor and what portion will be done in-house,” he said.
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