Efforts to replicate the Kelowna United soccer dome in West Kelowna have seen costs rise to almost four times those in Kelowna.
Image Credit: KelownaUnited.com
March 27, 2019 - 9:57 AM
WEST KELOWNA - The West Kelowna soccer dome should be open in October but the final costs won’t be known until then.
Council agreed last night, March 26, to increase the contingency budget for what they call a multi-sport dome by almost $262,000, bringing it to almost $463,000.
The contingency is put in place in case there are unforeseen construction costs. The idea is to increase the budget now, so if it’s needed, the project won’t be delayed waiting for council to approve more money.
Since the turf and dome have already been purchased, only some ground levelling and concrete work needs to be done, councillors said. They suggested the contingency funds could be returned to city reserves once the project is finished.
Despite the increase in the contingency, the total cost of the project remains budgeted at $3.8 million, the same as it was in January before the extra money was added. Council did not ask city staff for an explanation.
iNFOnews.ca has asked the city to provide a breakdown of the costs for the project that was budgeted in Jan. 2017 at $1 million, but staff have not been available to comment this week.
Coun. Jayson Friesen did ask whether contingencies were normally included in budgets for such projects and chief administrator officer Jim Zaffino said they had expected the tender for the actual construction of the dome to be even further below the city’s budget than it turned out to be.
The report that went to council last night said a contract for almost $3.1 million will be awarded to TKI Construction to build the dome and that was “below the City’s estimated value,” even though it triggered an increase in the budget.
“It came in over our original budget, under the total budget, but not when you subtract the contingency,” was the only explanation Zaffino offered council and no one asked for further details.
If no contingency funds are needed, it looks like the final cost of the dome could be closer to $3.3 million than the current budget of $3.8 million.
The overall budget also did not change after staff realized last fall that permanent rather than temporary washrooms were needed. No breakdown of washroom costs was provided.
TKI Construction will also get a contract for just over $1 million to replace a water main through the area. Staff stressed that the 50-year-old water main was subject to leaks and needed to be replaced, even if the soccer dome was not being built.
Work on the project will begin as soon as building permits are issued, which could happen by the end of this week.
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News from © iNFOnews, 2019