Prince George’s City Council meeting covered the demolition of the Days Inn, Four Seasons Pool, and Fire Hall No.1, and many of the councillors are hoping the overages seen are the last.
$2,577,485 is being added to the $7 million inn and pool demolition.
Manager of Project Delivery Leland Hanson said there were things missed in the assessment of the buildings, and noted the way things were built was strange.
“The gunite, which was one of the largest discoveries, it’s a stucco, and it has asbestos in it, and I guess in those days it helped flow through the gun when you sprayed it on the wall,” said Hanson.
“The vermiculite, in the drawings you could find it in places, but it was sporadically throughout the whole building. It wasn’t predictable.”
Hanson added that there seemed to be backfill used in some areas, and even came across a 17-inch thick slab of concrete, which he noted as odd.
Councillor Cori Ramsay said she believed the cost overruns are due to past capital project management practices.
“These overages are hopefully some of the last that we’ll see under the old way of doing things. We know that taxpayers deserve better and we are working so hard to get there.”
“Capital project overages need to be built into project contingencies, and if a transparent budget means that the project doesn’t get approved because we understand the true cost, then that is the will of council and the will of taxpayers, should a project fail at referendum.”
Councillor Kyle Sampson said he didn’t approve of the $2.5 million being added to the project, was the only councillor to vote against the addition, but added that he wanted to see that pool demolished.
Others, like Councillors Murry Krause and Frank Everitt, felt that this was a cost they needed to swallow, and they’d do better in the future.
“We can’t change the past, we can’t change what was done. And it has been acknowledged that changes are being made to remedy and hopefully mitigate these issues in the future,” said Krause.
Demolition costs are also going up in Prince George, it was reported that the tipping fees for materials like concrete in the Regional District have gone from $90/tonne to $180/tonne as of 2022.
$1,345,000 will also be spent to demolish Fire Hall No.1, which will also start in the new year.
Council also discussed the Centennial Mosaic and the Terry Fox statue at the Community Foundation Park.
The Terry Fox statue is being relocated, and the City will take pictures of the Centennial Mosaic and potentially put them at the new pool, as the mosaic is too heavy to relocate and needs to be demolished.
Other items on the agenda included an ask for funding from Trinity United Church, which was denied, and the BC Lung Association warned PG residents of the possible radon exposure we might be getting.
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