A conceptual design of the pool.

Image Credit: City of Vernon

Vernon's revamped Peanut Pool is set to cost $1 million more than it was supposed to.

The City of Vernon now says the project will cost $4,435,825, which is an $1,034,640 increase from the original estimate of $3.4 million.

In a media release, the City says a tender for the pool washroom and mechanical building came in $600,000 over budget at $1,362,142. The City had estimated roughly $700,000 for the structure.

Additional excavation work was also needed due to the clay content of the East Hill neighbourhood's soil and the increased costs involved with pouring concrete throughout the winter.

"It is always regrettable when we see escalated costs that require a project budget to be increased. Until this most recent tender, the project team had been able to keep the project close to budget," City of Vernon Mayor Victor Cumming said in the release.

"When Council reviewed the additional funding request, we determined we did not want to see the project scaled back. This is a vitally important facility for families in our community and it has been well-used every summer since 1958. Therefore, Council decided to provide the funds necessary to deliver what was presented to the community as part of the revitalization project."

While the cost of the project has gone up by one-third, the City says this will not affect taxpayers. The money will come from Vernon’s Infrastructure Reserve, $301,000, and the Recreation Major Maintenance and Operational Reserves, $733,640. 

The City snagged $1.9 million in provincial and federal money towards the project.

In the early stages, the City had originally estimated the project would cost $2.5 million.

While it had been expected to open this summer, much to the annoyance of many residents, the city announced earlier this year the pool wouldn't be open this summer.

Baffling bureaucracy was to blame and confusing government guidelines. Interior Health insisted the city followed its regulations for public pools which sent designers, who'd followed provincial regulations, back to the drawing board.

Last summer, the City announced it would have to cut down roughly half a dozen mature trees which had given the original pool site much-needed shade. The pool's site now seems remarkably barren and exposed.

While the cost has already increased by $1 million, little construction has been done to the site, so the final price is not yet known.

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