The proposed aquatic centre in Timmins will see any detailed design costing more than $600,000 funded from future infrastructure reserves, after this week's city budget discussions.
Mayor Steve Black explained.
"Those members of council who were on last term, we started a future infrastructure reserve, actually right after we had a multi-recreation facility discussion.and determined at that time that we didn't have the funds to proceed, that we'd start putting aside money in a future infrastructure reserve," he said.
The move is an effort to reduce the burden to local taxpayers in the yet to be finalized 2017 budget.
"The building maintenance department is suggesting that we remove the $1 million cost for the engineering design out of the future infrastructure reserve, as opposed to the tax levy," he said.
Councillor Joe Campbell raised concerns that figures he had gathered from the Director of Engineering Luc Duval, which suggested designers would be making upwards of $150 an hour while working on the project.
"I calculate that the money we have left at about 4,200 hours of design time. What are we designing here? 4,200 hours? We're not designing the Eiffel Tower here. We're designing an aquatic centre, and it shouldn't take that kind of dollars and design time," he said.
Black didn't want to debate how many hours engineers would or should be working on the project.
"What the recommendation is, is that we have $600,000 left from last year. Their recommending that if it goes over and above what we have left from last year, that we fund it out of reserve and don't put anything in the budget from the tax levy this year," said Black.
Councillor Joe Campbell isn't sure about the mounting costs of the detailed design phase, he said the city wasn't designing 'The Eiffel Tower'. Andrew Autio for TimminsToday Campbell made it abundantly clear that he's not in favour of asking taxpayers to put money aside for a project that still has countless questions surrounding it. Black needed to explain it again for Campbell, as it became clear he wasn't grasping the concept.
"This vote is assuming that council does continue with the direction they've had, which is to go out for the RFP, which is being prepped as we speak, and to proceed with that design to fund it out of the future infrastructure reserve, instead of the tax levy," said Black.
Councillor Pat Bamford thought the idea was a good one.
"It makes a whole lot of sense to take the $1 million out of the capital budget, and suggest that whatever we need, up to a million dollars, plus the other $600,000 if necessary, which would save about one-and-a-half percent on our tax levy by doing that," he said.
After Councillor Rick Dubeau asked Black about the timeline, and what the next steps were, Black deferred to Director of Community and Development Services Mark Jensen.
"The next step is to finalize the conceptual drawings, so we can base the detailed design RFP off it. Because as you're aware, we did a feasibility analysis which had a different concept, and council amended that concept, so our consultant has re-drawn conceptual to include the elements that council wanted in the facility, which is obviously more than an aquatic centre. So that hopefully will come back to council at a meeting in March. Then once council gives their blessing on that re-designed conceptual, the RFP will be fine tuned. Its essentially done, but we need to have that piece defined. Then we'll release it shortly thereafter," he said.
Jensen added that although the timing 'has been thrown off' on the project, thanks to changes in scope, he expects the detailed design to be completed by the fall.
Voting in favor were Councillors Bamford, Campbell, Mike Doody, Veronica Farrell, Andrew Marks, Noella Rinaldo, Walter Wawrzaszek, and Black. Opposed was Councillor Dubeau.
