Beach Park, Klatt Building, ASAP project budgets addressed
November's Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting took a new direction this week, as staff presented Council with a summary of costs to date for projects currently underway, in the Village.
The meeting, delayed a day from its usual time slot, began at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, with Councillors Neville Abbott and Michael Broughton, Mayor Ken Berry and Financial Officer (FO) Joe Chirkoff present in chambers. Councillor Jaime Cunliffe and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Ross Blackwell joined the meeting online. Councillor Reuter, out of town, sent his regrets.
Recent COW meetings have focused almost exclusively on budget issues, and this meeting did indeed get to that topic. First, however, came a look at recent expenditures on the three principal projects underway in the Village: the Alberta Creek Water Supply Augmentation Project (ASAP) , the Klatt Building Upgrade and the long-awaited Lions Bay Beach Park project.
Budget numbers were made available as part of the evening's agenda.
Beach Park public consultation expected before year end
Much of the discussion around the Lions Bay Beach Project (LBBP) focused on the nearly $80,000 spent to date on design costs for previous iterations of the project that will not be used. This includes more than $24,000 paid to PMG Landscape Architects, and more than $37,000 paid to Millenia Architecture.
The budget (page 4) currently shows costs to date of more than $294,000, including the funds lost to unrealized designs and the cost of new playground equipment, priced out at $182,000.
While Councillor Neville Abbott noted that not all of the money spent has gone to waste, as some specs for septic and other plans will still be put into play, it was agreed that the bulk of those funds is lost.
However, Chief Administrative Officer Ross Blackwell says he is confident that the current iteration of the project will come in as budgeted. "Aside from anything unforeseen, we should absolutely be on budget. It'll be tight, given the $80,000 spent thus far. It would be nice to have access to that money instead of having seen that slip through our fingers, but that said, based on the Nick Bray design and subject to community and Council feedback, the expectation is that it will absolutely hit the budget."
Back in September, Blackwell stated that the Lions Bay Beach Park revival was underway, with two companies bidding to design and build the project. At last evening's COW meeting, he clarified that staff are finalizing details with Nick Bray Architects (NBA) and Euro Dream Custom Homes, whom he said will work together to design and build the project.
Blackwell said that once staff have resolved outstanding design and construction issues, public consultation will be sought before the project is returned to Council for a final decision. He said he'd like to start the new year with a construction plan in place and anticipates a three-month construction window, allowing for weather delays in the rainy season.
Abbott pointed out that the playground structure is over budget, (with actual costs coming in at more than double the $73,500 allocated), and asked if there was any flexibility in the costs. Chirkoff explained that the structure is manufactured by a company called Habitat in Europe, and said it is the only option available. He added that funds raised privately will help to offset a percentage of this over-run.
Blackwell confirmed that while a contract is not yet signed, the negotiation with Habitat is long-standing and the purchase of the playground equipment is a "done deal".
He also said that the costs of the washroom building have been brought down in the latest design, meaning a savings of about $250,000 – some of which can be redirected to the playground costs as well as other issues such as smoothing out uneven surfaces on the site.
Alberta Creek Project (ASAP) complete and under budget
Chirkoff said the Alberta Creek Water Supply Augmentation Project (ASAP) project
(page 2) is complete, and under budget.
Approved in principle in June, the project was speedily funded when money originally intended for the repair or replacement of a suspected leaking water tank was re-allocated after investigation proved the tank was sound.
The project was initially pitched by Director of Operations Karl Buhr* as a means to supplement water reserves should a shortage result from ongoing drought conditions across the province. While Lions Bay outdoor water usage levels did not dip below Level 2 this summer, ASAP will remain in place should future drought conditions lead to limited water availability in Harvey or Magnesia Creeks.
Klatt Building upgrade almost complete
While the bulk of the Klatt Emergency Building upgrade is almost complete, Blackwell said that a couple of elements remain outstanding, including work on the project apron and landscaping. He added that the cost overruns for these outstanding elements will be brought to Council later this month, but the bulk of the project is finished and under budget.
Supplemental requests from Bylaw, Fire and Staff
After Chirkoff offered a brief verbal report regarding the need to earmark funds from the Climate Action Program for the switch away from oil heating at the Village Hall by summer of 2025, attention turned to specific requests for supplemental expenditures.
Head Bylaw Enforcement Officer Taj Bindra made a case (page 18) for a dedicated bylaw enforcement vehicle. Discussion included whether funds generated justify the cost of buying a dedicated vehicle versus the current costs of insuring a private vehicle to do the job, and whether the vehicle can be shared with Public Works.
As was the case in 2023, Fire Chief Barret Germscheid made a number of requests, several of them repeats from last year. These included a dedicated backhoe or forklift for use during fire training, jaws of life capable of cutting contemporary vehicles when needed, an Incident Command Support vehicle for attending accidents and other incidents and an increase to the standby rate paid to on-call firefighters.
Council was told that the current backhoe is irreparable and a safety hazard.
Abbott said that last year he suggested a yearly budget be set so LBFR could then decide how to allocate those funds. In 2023, a decision was made to set aside $50,000 a year to save for a fire truck over ten years. Discussion circled around bumping that amount to $100,000 per year, which would still not cover the cost of a truck, but mean that less money would have to be borrowed when the time came. The subject of seeking grant money to offset costs arose, as did the need for the formation of a grants committee.
On behalf of staff, Chirkoff requested funding for an Accounts Receivable module to replace the current Excel spreadsheets used to keep accounts in the Village. He said it would be useful in every area of Village Office business, increasing efficiency and saving office time. Blackwell noted that this is a standard software program within many municipalities and added that the module will increase accuracy and reduce errors.
Deputy Corporate Officer Kristal Kenna also spoke to the value of the module in terms of staff time, with particular emphasis on all the items front office staff are required to sell to the public.
No supplemental requests were made on behalf of the Public Works department, with Chirkoff noting that Director of Operations Karl Buhr will forward his requests to Council prior to the next meeting.
With Infrastructure, Climate Action and Finance committee meetings scheduled over the next month Chirkoff said he expects recommendations based on these requests.
No members of the public asked questions at either opportunity during the meeting. This month's Council meeting will take place on November 19 at 6 p.m.
(*Edited to note the credit for the initiation of the ASAP project should also go to members of the Infrastructure Committee, who first introduced the concept of gravity-feeding a high-density polyethelene (HDPE) pipeline across Harvey Creek.)
Have thoughts to share ?
Leave your comments below, or email us at editor@lionsbaywatershed.ca
Â
Like what you're reading? For as little as $5/month, you can support local independent journalism by subscribing to The Watershed HERE.
Comentarios