The Fitzhugh - Activity centre renos need another $1 million

Activity centre renos need another $1 million

October 08, 2009

Although $4.5 million has already been assigned to the Activity and Aquatic Centre renovations, project lead Christopher Read has received approval for the municipality to borrow an extra $1 million.

An independent cost analysis estimates the project cost, for just Phase 1, at around $4,678 million which is six per cent more than the $4.5 million put aside.

During the culture and recreation meeting last Friday, Read said that despite this still being a little over budget, it meant they had been “working on the right assumptions.”

To deal with this increased spending, Toker and Associates said that some items will be placed on the tender individually so that, if needed, they can be cut from the project.

The approval means construction will be delayed by three weeks.

According to Read, by borrowing the $1 million to complete Phase 1A, the town will be saving money, as the items are due and part of the capital plan in the near future.

Read stressed that there would be no additional tax being passed onto residents in order to complete Phase 1A.

However, along with the regularly scheduled additional four per cent increase in user fees culture and recreation manager Yvonne McNabb has budgeted for a potential increase of 11 per cent in 2011.

McNabb said the increase in fees would also be due to longer opening hours, better facilities and overall better service. She said that even with these increases it was important that it remains “affordable to everyone” as it is a municipal service.

This coupled with the predicted 25 per cent increase in usage, use of the capital budget for the next years would help pay for the loan. ”

What’s in the $4.678 million plan?